Contentious plans to move Scotland’s biggest music festival to a new home in the grounds of Strathallan Castle have split the public straight down the middle.
A 28-day consultation exercise to gather views on T in the Park’s planned move to the 1,000-acre Strathallan Estate, near Auchterarder in west Perthshire, ended on Tuesday, with a narrow lead for supporters.
Perth and Kinross Council planners received 234 letters and emails backing DF Concert’s bid, compared to 225 against.
Councillors are expected to rule on the planning application in April.
A host of big-name acts and music industry gurus including Simple Minds front man Jim Kerr have voiced their support for the move.
In her letter to the local authority, DJ Edith Bowman said: “Landscape, environment, energy, wildlife and people are all things of great importance to the organisers and not something they take for granted or ignore.”
Colin Sweeney, the proprietor of Weston Park in the West Midlands, a similarly sized country estate which has hosted the V Festival, also spoke out in T’s favour.
He said 10 years ago, the V Festival generated about £7.8 million for the area’s local economy.
The contentious issue of traffic management and potential impact on wildlife were among the main concerns of objectors.
Opponents have argued the roads were “not designed for this volume of traffic” and concerns have been raised about “random parking” and wild camping.
One objector said: “Strathallan Castle is a haven for wildlife … there seems to be little regard being paid to the impact on birds, fish and wild mammals.”
However, RSPB Scotland said it would not object to the plan.