Wildfire fears as Cotswolds music festival gets the go-ahead near Long Newnton
People living nearby say there's only one emergency exit and no water on site
There are serious fears over the risk of wildfires as plans for a music festival in the Cotswolds have been given the go-ahead.
The organisers of Existance Festival had their licence approved last week for the up to 2,000-person psytrance event at Boldridge Farm in Long Newnton.
More than 70 people opposed the licence application for the festival scheduled for September 3 to September 6 which was approved by Cotswold District Council on August 19.
It allows Wilde Dancing Ltd to have live and recorded music and films until 2am on three of the nights as well as providing late night refreshment and the sale of alcohol.
But serious concerns remain over fire safety given the recent Government alert warning of the risk of wildfire nationally.
The conditions attached to the licence include a ban on fireworks, pyrotechnics and no fires or barbecues will be permitted at the premises during the event.
Smoking will be allowed but there will be signs requiring people to dispose of cigarettes and other smoking materials safely.
And a fire inspection shall be undertaken by an independent, competent authority such as Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service, before the event commences.
This requirement was imposed in response to the particular concerns raised during the hearing about fire safety and the exceptionally dry conditions.
But residents remain concerned especially as fire engines were called out to the site recently to put out a blaze.
Di Thomas, chair of Long Newnton Parish Council said there are several concerns about safety particularly as there is only one emergency exit to the south of the site.
She is also concerned they have not been told who would do the fire inspection or what the timings would be.
“They have no emergency exit to the north,” she said.
“The emergency exit route is the same route that fire engines would have to go to fill up because there is no water there.
“They have to travel a mile and a half down the same route they would be evacuating people.”
It is particularly concerning as they will be using straw bales as part of their sound barrier, she said.
Cllr Thomas said the topography of the land is very flat and there is a fear a fire would spread.
“They are proposing to use the Fosseway as an emergency exit but the Fosseway is an overgrown tinderbox,” she said.
“The prevailing wind would take it across the flat land if there’s anything in the wind.
“It is astonishing. There is a complete disregard for that lack of safety.”
Judy Pratt, who lives nearby, is among those who are really concerned about the festival going ahead.
“There was a fire on the site where the festival is going to be held,” she said.
“There were around three fire engines and there wasn’t enough water there and they had to go to Home Farm to fill up from the lake.
“But Ashley Marsh Farm is a tinderbox. It’s full of thickets and little clumps of woods. It’s like the African bush, you expect a lion to come creeping through it.
“If there’s a fire, it is going to wipe out both the farms, then the big fear is that it is going to go up the Fosseway all the way up to Kemble and Cotswold Airport.
“I’m amazed that they actually agreed to it.
“It’s putting a festival ahead of people’s lives. The fires are a real risk.
“I don’t know what the Government would think of it all with the recent warnings.
“The farmland is a tinder box. It’s a real concern.”
The event organisers told the meeting last week that they understand why fire safety is a concern.
“And they have employed a professional team which has set out safety plans for the event,” they said.
Their plan includes staff, security and stewards patrolling the festival site at all times, the meeting heard.
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service has been approached for comment.