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 ??

Just seen someone claim on facebook that Kylie is headlining 😅 Ill believe that when I see it !!

We have 2 or 3 a year in the park near me. Music so loud you can hear it miles away. People using gardens as toilets going on way past posted time. Council don't care they make a mint and we are one of the bankrupt councils. Try and get away for the day/weekend is all I can suggest

Looks like it's been cancelled when they didn't get permission. OP, you must be so relieved: Festival now cancels all plans for 2025 | monmouthshirebeacon.co.uk

Yes lots of people on my road were very relieved indeed !! One of my neighbours went to a council meeting where the main organiser spoke and came home more worried than before he went, apparently it all sounded like completely fantasy (there was talk of a helipad, a no fly zone, claims that there would be no increAse in traffic, building bridges ober the river Wye that could carry the weight of two tanks and when asked about his experience with large scale public events he said don't worry I've got a European firearms lisence 🤯😂). So when this news came though we were not exactly surprised.

But they've said they'll be back for 2026 so watch this space haha.

They sound like total chancers.

..he said don't worry I've got a European firearms lisence

I presume the main organiser is a resident of Britain. In which case, he can't have a valid European Firearms Pass (the actual title of the document, which he evidently isn't aware of). GB residents are no longer able to use a European Firearms Pass https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/european-firearms-requirements

Any EFPs they did hold are no longer valid and they can't apply for a new one.

So he's a liar or a fantasist or at the very best ignorant of the relevant legislation. That sounds reassuring. Not.

I didn't hear him say this myself but a few people posted their notes from this public meeting online and they all mentioned it. Just checked with my neighbour and apparently he specofically said a "category A European firearms license" 🤔

I just hope people who paid for tickets and the local businesses who paid a deposit for stall all get refunded !!

A "Category A" firearm licence is more accurately called a shotgun certificate. It comes under UK law, is issued by the local police force and is nothing to do with Europe, the EU or European legislation.

The word "wally" keeps floating into my mind, I can't think why

As for people getting money back, we shall see.

Well its being discussed again on local facebook site now, people aren't being refunded until they get their bank or pypal involved !!

Whilst I don't agree with this obviously and think organisers are disgusting if they aren't refunding people, I also think to a degree people who bought tickets are also partially responsible for their own situation given that it was very clear it was a madcap idea with no chance of going ahead. Fair enough if you aren't local and had no idea about the risks, are a young person etc. But people who knew the controversy around it and went - I will go ahead anyway, that was not a clever plan.

Incidentally when I read the Ts and Cs on their website it said nothing about providing refunds, so not quite sure how you'd manage to get a refund via PayPal or your bank? Using their Facebook message about refunds I guess.

Seeing as the thread was revived and I just saw it, I'd still want to add that this is an important point.
Not everyone can just "go away":
people with mobility issues
people will care dependants
people with shift work or others that work over the weekend
people who don't have the money to throw at a holiday they don't want to take at that point of the year

Holding an incredibly loud event close to residential living creates another risk, one that perhaps the government, now that the NHS is trying to save money and benefits are cut, may want to listen to:

Sustained noise of that quality, with no means of escape, can cause hearing problems and contribute to hearing loss - it's a costly risk in health and work politics. There are further risks to noise, such as in the studies about road traffic, like higher blood pressure. This is not about "it's only three days" - three days thumping bass can give you permanent tinnitus if you're unlucky.

The noise can exacerbate other health issues, like psychological problems, too; it is related to a phenomenon called noise pollution.

There'll be plenty of news and studies about it
https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss
https://musiciansunion.org.uk/news/the-importance-of-hearing-damage-prevention-in-musicians-work
https://www.verywellmind.com/stress-and-noise-pollution-how-you-may-be-at-risk-3145041

btw, instead of earplugs, there is the option to buy (or to ask the agency who permits loud events to finance them) over-the-ear noise protectors, like workers at building sites and noisy workplaces wear. They have different protection levels, so read the label before buying. Of course they look a bit funny worn indoors, but they do offer better protection. They might be especially useful for kids who can't escape the noise and need their ears being protected even more.

As a bonus, the kids can also wear them when they visit a concert they like (at a suitable location, that is, not on another field next to residences); I've seen plenty of kids who visit concerts with their parents wearing them.

Omg well my blood is boiling now after seeing a comment with a link to a news article about the main organiser. It turns out he was convicted of FRAUD for forging documents and making a fake website to get a mortgage in his ex wifes name without her knowing anything about it !!!

And seems that nobody is getting refunds unless their bank or paypal get involved. He is just sending excuses after excuses to people when they ask him about it.

Absolutely fraudsters from the start

I hope people get back their money. It may be that he has no assets. Those owed money should try to check the Land Registry record (costs £7 now to check) to see if he owns his house and if there are loans on it.

Oh, I THOUGHT he looked dodgy...

I hope your local councillors who were supposedly on board are now thoroughly ashamed of their stupidity/lack of due diligence.

@treatmelikeamushroom that doesn't surprise me at all. Such a disgrace. Really hope people manage to get their money back - guess he will have everything sewn up so he can avoid giving it to them 😥

I've lost track

the council didn't give permission did they?

No he never got any permissions off of anyone for the festival, council or anyone else !! Didn't stop tickets going on sale though. Then the website went off line, then he cancelled the festival completely, then someone complained on local facebook that they hadn't got their refund yet and now this story about the main organiser being done for fraud in the past come out. Now theres all sorts of information going up on the town facebook group about him, some locals seem to have turned detective and been checking him out in Company House and finding all his other businessess and websites, someone just posted earlier today that he is already advertising a different festival for 2027 🙄

Interesting article on BBC today that made me think of this thread @treatmelikeamushroom

I was about to post that BBC story but was beaten to it!

Fantasist, fraud, forgery. All words used in the article.

Yes I seen this last night !!

Well well well what a surprise, NOT !!

And despite all the vainglorious promises, only 24 people bought tickets...

So you became outraged over nothing in the end. Hee hee, I bet you are pleased. I am pleased for you and glad no more than 24 people bought tickets (though obviously sorry for them).

That's a bit rude, we didn't know it was nothing to start with !! The way the organisers were talking and to look at the publicity/advertising they put out (including the town council publically backing the event and main organiser) it seemed like a very definite real thing and I still think local residents had every right to be concerned about it, the plan to fit 45000 festival goers, 5 stages, bars, camping, plus all the staff etc onto a tiny site backing onto residential housing with bad road access was a terrible plan and ok it turned out to be all hot air but nobody knew that at the time I posted !! The local county show is on the same site in a couple of weeks and Im absolutely fine with that despite the noise and traffic because it a well established event, well managed, properly planned and kept to a sensible size. It's not like I was being a nimby this was just a totally ridiculous plan from the start.

They fooled everyone at first.