Lowedges Festival Greenhill Park: Popular Sheffield event saved and set to return '50 per cent bigger'

A popular Sheffield festival is set to return - with one of the organisers confirming it has been saved.

The Lowedges Festival, which takes place at Greenhill Park, has traditionally attracted as many as 15,000 visitors every year during August, but the event was ditched this year for reasons including a lack of volunteers available to make it happen.

But today, Stephen Rich, who has been a driving force behind the festival over the 16 years since it started, said the event had been saved, with cash set to be put into the event by the Sheffield Council's local area committee (LAC).

He told The Star: "The biggest free event around has been saved after a big bid for funding was agreed at the south LAC meeting. The sum involved was £5,000 which with a private business man sponsor and others will ensure the event will go ahead, plus it is sustainable with the new plan.

"The event grew so big its costs became huge due to the basics of a huge event - barriers, health and safety officers, toilets, medics etcetera."

He said he thought it was great news, and said there had been lots of hard work by the local councillors for the area and local campaigners

He added it would also be 50 per cent bigger than previously.

He added: "I am semi retiring but will work with the new committee and our big sponsor."

Although they were unable to save the full festival which would have taken place this summer, organisers did manage to arrange for events to take place at Tenants Hall on Gresley Road and its car park, as well as a show by a re-enactment group in Greenhill Park itself.

Councillor Simon Clement-Jones, chairman of the South Local Area Committee, said the stop-gap event was thanks to the hard work of the Lowedges festival organisers and Greenhill and Bradway TARA, with support and funding from local councillors, the South Local Area Committee and the Freshgate Trust.

The festival had become a popular local attraction for visitors in the area, although it was not run in 2021 or 2022 due to lockdowns during the coronavirus pandemic.