To not understand how this can be allowed without anyone asking local residents?

[treatmelikeamushroom]

Just read a big announcement on our local facebook page saying a 3 day festival with an absolutely enormous capacity is being held on the fields behind my house this summer (my garden backs onto the fields). I don't want to say how big exactly because it's outing (news articles that come up if you google the exact figure) but it's several times bigger than the entire population of the small town I live in! The road access is really bad already and there's really bad traffic that causes hour long delays when the annual county show is held which is only on for 1 day and is a tiny number of people compated to this festival. There's never been anything even approaching this size here before, it's about 10 times the size of any events that the fields have ever held before. It's a fairly small site so to fit in what the organisers say they're fitting in (5 stages including a dance stage run by a very famous nightclub) every scrap of the fields will have to be used right up to the residents garden fences and the noise will be horrific.

But apparently it's a done deal and is all been given the green light by the town council? It's not a busy place at all, it's a very small town and the site has a main road running through the middle of it (so half the fields are on each side of this road) and housing estate running all down one side of it. Usually it's mostly used for just sheep and one or two of the fields (there's about 6 in total) for the small local event like car boot sales or the county show or a classic car show (and those events cause traffic chaos as it is despite being only very small events ) What I don't understand is I walk over those field nearly every day for the school run and there's been no notices about the plans or anything, no local residents have had a chance to see the plans or object or anything. I can't over state how unsuitable a venue this is for what I've read is happening without outing my location but its really really not at all appropriate! Do residents not have to be told or asked about plans for something thjs big and disruptive ??

Well their Instagram says they hope to appeal to radio 2 listeners so hopefully not too wild! If it goes ahead!

I was reading about this yesterday in the local newspaper...we are about half an hour away from monmouth and my first thoughts were about the traffic. Article was stressing the links to Glastonbury management team...highlighting it had experienced organisers behind it.

other than the pain of traffic - i wouldnt worry too much as ultimately not too much you can do.

It is meant to have a wide range of acts so if you remotely like live music then i would try and and go and enjoy going back to your bed to sleep at night.

I say that as someone who lived in Reading and loved the festival and the ability to go home and wash and sleep.

It's temporary, so you have very little say- if the landowner and the council agree.
On one level, many people got permanently thrown out of their homes here (Stratford) in the run up to the Olympics, so just be grateful it could be worse.
On the other hand I would visit my councillor (for your voting ward) and make it clear you will not vote for them and will encourage others to do likewise because you are very unhappy you were not consulted.

I'd certainly be insisting on no music after 11pm...

They also have to apply for licences to sell alcohol which you can object to as well as entertainment licences (ditto).

I'd also raise concerns with the Highway Agency about the disruption to an A-road including parking limitations and sight issues with access to and from the road...

As your friend says, they can PLAN it but execution and permissions are another thing entirely. They will have to publish those licence requests in the field I believe so keep an eye out.

I had this happen near me. And it turned out they'd not got all their paperwork together or permission for the volume of the music. It was shutdown incredibly quickly...

I've had a look at the very small amount of information online and in my opinion (I do actually have experience with events and festivals), it's not going to happen.

They are selling tickets in 9 days and nobody even knows what genre the festival is, let alone who's playing. And they're expecting to sell 45k tickets? It's a bit daft really.

Lineups are often released a lot later but you at least know roundabouts the kind of acts - will this even be current acts? Or shit ones who are headliners at a festival nobody has ever heard of?

The SM presence and press for a festival of that size is also very poor. 289 followers? It's a pipe dream.

I'm going to add something else. I used to live down the road from The Secret Garden Party and work in the Sainsbury's. Absolute nightmare. The amount of shoplifting that went on when that was on was insane. I used to hate it.

Sounds like the elected representations of the local residents where asked (Town council) and they said yes.
Enjoy the free music.

is this it ?
https://www.theforestreview.co.uk/news/huge-45000-festival-set-to-rock-showground-754533

www.facebook.com/share/15VhyUp2LH/?mibextid=LQQJ4d

That's their Facebook page. I don't think they will make 4,500 ticket sales @ £180 each.

If that's true then it can't be possible can it?

Thanks, I'm relieved to hear someone else who has a bit of experience saying that it can't really happen the way it's being announced!! But why on earth would anybody be so crazy as to try and hype it up like that if it wasn't a certain thing? The organisers are so so confident from what I've been reading and insist all the legalities are agreed and the council have given permission.

Only if you don't mind taking your chances on it being absolutely trashed. I'd be worried about damages and "after parties" getting out of hand.

Much needed revenue for your local area and possibly your cash-strapped Council.
As others have said, either embrace it and have yourselves a fab weekend of free music (you may get free tickets) or rent out your house and go somewhere lovely for the weekend (if your work schedule allows).
Try not to stress over something you can't prevent anyway.

What they sometimes do is release positive media spin before approvals are in place so people get excited about it and then the authorising body feels pressured to approve it.
Buck and kick and make it plain you don't want it.

We had this with our old property. In the end we sold up and moved. People would openly come into our porch to piss in broad daylight, vomit on our doorstep, countless takeaway boxes, plastic cups, broken glass etc. One girl was ran over by a car and killed in front of our window for wandering out into the street on a busy road - the festival barriers were right up to a main road and people would just walk out aimlessly off their faces into traffic. Every year there would be an accident. Noise for five days straight. Couldn’t get into work so had to wfh with noise and my kids who I couldn’t get into childcare. Then trying to explain to kids school how it was literally impossible to get them in on some days. Being blocked by untrained arrogant security staff who wouldn’t let me take certain pathways to my own home, a detour I was taking to try and avoid the aggressive drunks. Could have rented on Airbnb for 5 days and covered a months mortgage and bills with one rental but who wants that kind of guest in their home? And couldnt go away out of fear to what we were coming back to.

I'd be more worried if they weren't using the fields for anything for the community/culture. Much more likely to be sold off to a big developer & you could end up with a housing estate instead.
Count your blessings, go to the festival, you might surprise yourself and have some fun.

It sounds as though it may not happen. It sounds horrible. If the council is so keen on it they should put resident up in hotels and put guards on their houses and do complete clean up of the street after.

OP, read this.⬆️

Get hold of your local councillor, council office holders and officials, MP.

Demand security for your home and alternative accommodation.

Oh, and warn Lidl.

Genuine question for those saying to rent your house out on Air B&B...

You'd seriously let strangers live with all your belongings, clothes, books, tv, washing machine, furniture, everything?

Really?

Monmouth county council are an absolute nightmare, wouldn't be in the least surprised if they allow it!

People do. They move all their belongings out but lots of their own things are still there. We use airbnb all the time

However when I suggested it on page 1 (havent read the other pages so others might have said the same), I meant that OP can rent rooms out, you can rent rooms with you still living there.

Maybe it isn't all on the one site. At a local festival to us there are car parks and campsites at other locations round the town and they are bussed to the site (near our house) for the music etc and bussed back again.

No way would I be going away - I'd want to stay and protect my property.

I don't understand why some posters think this is okay. It might 'just be 3 days' but there's every chance it will impact people who have to work the next day/who are ill/old/very young etc. Why on earth should it be okay to inflict 3+ days/nights of hellish noise and disruption on them?

Sounds like hell on earth. People saying embrace it or calling you a nimby are being totally self centred. Some people are elderly, chronically ill, disabled, need to get around to care for relatives, go to work.... If the site is unsuitable, it sounds like a giant pain in the arse.

Having something like this in my backyard would have major impact on my health. Hope they have a rethink @treatmelikeamushroom

A reminder: any money to the council won’t be lining their pockets: it will be going into services. If you want lights on in your local library and social services to keep running then you need to either pay more tax or slow the council to charge businesses to do things.