Organisers of this summer’s Festival of House have defiantly declared that the Angus event remains “on track” after taking a mauling from licensing chiefs.
They hope to welcome 15,000 music fans to the Panmure estate on the outskirts of Carnoustie in June for a three-day extravaganza including top names Rudimental, Leftfield and Underworld.
The festival now faces a crunch return appearance before the licensing board in early May just a month before the festival gates are due to open to secure a vital public entertainments licence and make a fresh bid for the occasional alcohol licence which was put before board members at their meeting in Forfar on Thursday.
The board unanimously agreed to defer consideration of the application until after a visit to the Panmure site with licensing officials.
But they will be without either festival representatives or local residents who are unhappy over the choice of location and have raised safety fears for those attending the weekend.
Angus Council licensing standards officer Mark Gillespie said he had brought the occasional licence application before the board because of the absence of a fully completed crowd management plan.
The application sought to secure drinking hours of 5pm to midnight on Friday June 9 and noon to 12.45am on Saturday and Sunday June 10 and 11 at the five bars within the festival arena.
They include a 350-person capacity cocktail bar and VIP area.
Festival organisers have said there will be up to 200 stewards on site to ensure public safety at the over-18s event.
At the eleventh hour they had submitted a completed alcohol management plan, the timing of which board chairman Craig Fotheringham branded a “disgrace”.
He told festival director Craig Blyth and the organiser’s licensing lawyer Janet Hood: “I think it is an absolute disgrace we have been presented with this at this late stage.
“It is simply not acceptable. We have seen articles in the press about this festival and it is just not good enough that we are being asked to consider this having only received this alcohol plan last night.”
Fellow board member Alex King said: “I agree we should defer this so the board can carry out a site visit, and that should be only board members and officials, so residents or the applicant will not be there.
“You should have more experience than to submit this plan by email yesterday afternoon. I got this at 9.30 this morning and have simply not had time to read it.
“Management plans are not completed, we have an application for a liquor licence in advance of a public entertainment licence and I think this application is totally premature.”
Mrs Hood told the board: “I do understand your concerns. We hoped the occasional licence could be considered today and that would show due separation.”
Defending the publicity surrounding the line-up of acts for the festival, she said it was “the nature of the beast” that pre-advertising of such events takes place.
“I apologise for the lateness of this and if it has upset members,” she added.Mixed reactionThe Carnoustie site’s selection from a trio of original possible Angus locations for the area’s inaugural Festival of House has created a “huge buzz” among electronic dance music lovers.
Since announcing the Panmure event, director Craig Blyth has revealed a stellar line-up led by top acts including Underworld, Rudimental, Leftfield, Hacienda Classical, Sasha and Mike Pickering alongside Grammy-winning artist Dubfire and DJ Dixon.
A recent suppliers’ event was also held in Carnoustie to help maximise the potential of the festival for local businesses in reaping the economic benefit presented by a hoped-for influx of 15,000 to the site near the town.
However, some local residents remain strongly opposed to the event and its possible impact on the local environment, as well as harbouring concerns about the safety of strangers in the woodlands of the Panmure estate.
The community group East Haven Together has made an application to Angus Council for Panmure estate to be given conservation status, but that will not be determined before the planned festival in June.
The group has declared the site “totally unsuitable” for a dance festival and believes it will be impossible to safely mitigate against the risks to wildlife and the area’s natural and historic heritage.
Scottish Badgers also recently joined opposition to the event, suggesting that stress levels among animals there will be sent soaring by high levels of noise, vibration and human scent.
The claims have been refuted by event organisers, who have pledged that public access will be managed to avoid revellers from accessing areas containing badger setts.
Festival of House said they had employed an environmental consultancy group to ensure mitigation measures are in place, and staff will be receiving a reminder of their legal responsibilities regarding badgers.