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A music festival or a beer festival? councillor ‘extremely worried’ by Montrose alcohol applications

A music festival or a beer festival?  councillor ‘extremely worried’ by Montrose alcohol applications

Angus Council’s licensing board convener has raised concerns that Montrose Music Festival is becoming more focused on beer than music.

Alex King said he was “extremely worried” at the number of late-licence requests from venues in Montrose during the weekend of the festival.

He has also criticised festival organisers for realising too late that the Toploader concert would appeal to under-18s, and suggested organisers stop the sale of alcohol so children can attend. The licence for the headline gig on May 24 was granted on the basis no under-18s would be admitted.

After speaking to a member of the licensing board, the Mo Fest committee decided not to make a fresh application and stated the gig would remain adults-only due to the amount of council “red tape”.

Mr King said: “When they put in their original application the festival organisers should have realised they had a band with a significant under-age following. They should have considered whether they ought to apply for a licence.

“There is nothing stopping them turning round now and saying ‘we’ll just serve soft drinks on the premises’. Then I would have no problem with them opening up the venue to young people.”

He added the board would be happy to talk to the festival committee about licensing requirements that would allow under-18s to attend events namely that there is a separate area for the bar and a strict stewarding policy.

Festival chairman David Paton said not serving alcohol at the concert would cause problems and admitted the group had learned lessons about the licensing requirements it will take into next year’s event.

He added: “Having a bar there is popular and having a few glasses of wine and a few beers is part of the concert experience.

“We are not blaming the licensing board. We didn’t realise how much red tape there was to get under-18s at a concert. We are going to look into this further in time for next year’s festival.”

The festival is due to feature more than 120 acts, playing on an open air stage in Montrose High Street and around 20 other venues during the May 25-26 weekend.

Mr King revealed that several requests for late licences in Montrose during the festival weekend had been received.

He added: “I’m getting extremely worried about what’s happening with the Montrose Music Festival is it a music festival or is it becoming a beer festival because we are now getting applications for venues to stay open until 2am.

“This year there is a focus on venues getting extra hours to drink and we have received several applications for extended hours. The problem is 2am is getting very late for people coming out and dispersing in the town centre.”

Mr Paton said the festival remained focused on the music and added it was a venue decision, not a festival decision, to apply for late licences.

He added: “The vast majority of our revellers are here to see the music and enjoy the music. If there are a small minority that cause trouble we have staff to deal with them.

“Our latest bands will finish at around 1am. If venues want to apply for a late licence past our band times then that’s up to them The festival is all about music and the development of youth musicians in the town.”