Rowntree Park - riverside pitches

We went into York today and had a walk down the side of the river to see how the site had recovered after the floods a while back.

The main part of the site looked to be chocker block with vans, but the riverside pitching area was completely empty. We wondered whether that area was still being tidied up, but it actually looked better than ever, with the pitches looking in very good condition.

Seems a little strange that such a popular site is being so under utilised. The river level is well down, so no immediate threat of flooding.

I wondered if there was an explanation?