Leeds braces itself for arrival of 90,000 Robbie Williams fans

Quoted from: http://www.24dash.com/

'Publisher: Jon Land
Published: 08/09/2006 - 10:10:08 AM

Leeds braces itself for RobbieWilliams's sell-out concert atRoundhay Park

Leeds is bracing itself for the arrival of tens of thousands of pop fans heading for Robbie Williams's sell-out concerts in Roundhay Park.
The former Take That star turned solo chart topper is in concert in the park for two nights as part of his current tour.
The gigs have sparked some complaints after headteachers decided to close a number of schools due to the amount of people expected to swamp the area.
The city's transport system is set to be stretched, with delays predicted on many of the main routes around north Leeds on Friday and Saturday.
Several roads have been closed, including Wetherby Road - between Easterly Road and Roundhay Road - as well as Old Park Road, Park Avenue, West Avenue, The Carriage Drive, Princess Avenue, Oakwood Lane, Hollin Hill Drive, Hollin Hill Avenue, Oakwood Park, Bedford Court and Oakwood Grange.
Residents have been issued with permits allowing them to access their homes while the restrictions are in place between 10am and 3am the following day. The specially constructed concert arena opens at 2pm on both days.
Councillor John Proctor, Leeds's City Council's leisure chief, said: "When you have 90,000 people all heading to and from the same venue at a similar time each day there are clearly going to be major logistical challenges in terms of how that is managed.
"We are confident that the traffic management plan will enable this challenge to be met as efficiently as possible, with the safety of residents and people attending the concerts as well as keeping the disruption to local people to a minimum being our top priorities."
He added: "It is obvious that with such large numbers of people heading to Roundhay Park there will clearly be traffic jams and delays, but the measures being put in place will hopefully keep those to a minimum and we would ask people to please be patient or avoid the area altogether if their journey is not essential.
"We appeal to local residents to work with us and co-operate as much as they can so that they are not unduly affected on these two days. We thank everyone in advance for their patience and help and hope both events are a fantastic success and really showcase what a great city Leeds is."
Copyright Press Association 2006.'