Residents call for T In The Park axe

United Kingdom | | 08 August 2007

It follows huge traffic delays on the opening day of the Scottish festival due to heavy flooding, which left both motorists and residents stranded.

Despite thousands of revellers eventually enjoying the Scottish festival, locals say they became "prisoners in their own homes".

A deluge of rain blighted the opening day, forcing site car parks to close and causing huge tailbacks which clogged the surrounding villages.

T In The Park organisers have admitted there were serious problems but claim they were caused by elements beyond their control.

Nontheless, furious residents around Balado have demanded compensation and called for T In The Park to be axed or moved to a new location, according to the Tayside and Fife Courier.

One local told a meeting of Fossaway and District Community Council: “All the roads were absolutely gridlocked all day — it was a total shambles.

“I would like to ask if the event’s organisers can have their licence revoked as the disruption locals had to put up with was utterly unacceptable.

“We could not get out of our houses and for some people it was very frightening.”

While some residents lost out on earnings after being blocked from driving to work, others said they were more concerned by the sight of festival goers relieving themselves in gardens and bus-stops.

One told the meeting: “It is clear that villages throughout the area were used as huge public toilets. Human excrement was left in one bus shelter and was not cleared up until a local man did so himself. It is a disgrace.”

Councillors have stopped short of calling for the festival be axed - it is, after all, a huge economic boost to the area - but they have demanded the same mistakes not be made again, describing July's events as "unacceptable".

No one from T In The Park attended the meeting, however festival boss Geoff Ellis told Virtual Festivals: "Once again we do apologise for the impact that the festival had on the local community on Friday 6th July and we do agree that some of the issues were unacceptable, however the actual contributory factors that led to these events were outside our control and we did do everything possible to rectify them.

“We are now focused on carrying out our debrief, which every year includes meetings with the Perth & Kinross council, local community council members and the emergency services.  This feedback will forge an extremely important part of our planning, risk assessment and contingency for 2008 and we give residents our assurance that we will take every measure possible to ensure that the weekend is as free of disruption as possible.”

Each year, organisers from T In The Park tour surrounding areas to get the views and feedback from locals. They can be sure to hear some strong opinions this time round. What are your thoughts? Comment below.

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