Festivals banned after'˜Old Pool' event furore

Town Hall chiefs say Lawsons Field in Marton, which this summer played host to the ‘Back to the Old Pool’ festival, is not appropriate to hold large concerts because it is too close to residential areas.

The council, which owns the field, says the headland is a better venue.

Marton councillor Jim Elmes welcomed the decision.

He said; “I received a lot of complaints from residents following the ‘Old Pool’ event about noise and the behaviour of some of those attending.

“The tents on the field were all blaring out music, and there were police and ambulances called to the site.

“The showground is fine for family events like the dog and horse shows, but not for something like this.

“I think the Tower Festival Headland is a much more appropriate venue and will be a far better place to hold the festival.”

A town hall report says: “It is believed that Lawsons Field Showground is not an appropriate venue for the development of festival events such as ‘Back to the Old Pool’, as a result of its proximity to a residential area, the Special Site of Scientific Interest Marton Mere Nature Reserve and Blackpool Zoo.

“However, Tower Festival Headland is believed to be an appropriate site, with the council investing huge amounts of money to create a festival area that is centrally placed, supported by an excellent transport network and interfaced with the wider Blackpool economy.”

It was agreed the field should no longer be made available for such events.

The organisers of the Back to the Old Pool festival will be offered the opportunity to use the headland rent free for the 2017 event.

Hundreds of people attended the festival in July this year, organised by Blackpool DJ Jason Fubar, which included a line up of more than 60 performers including Radio One stars Judge Jules and Dave Pearce.

When the licence was granted, the council imposed strict requirements aimed at reducing possible disruption to nearby residents.

Measures were taken including putting on free buses to transport party-goers back to the town centre, 500 parking spaces, CCTV and stewarding.The £15m Tower Festival Headland, which opened in 2012, has been used to host events including the Illuminations switch-on, but has so far failed to attract as many concerts as originally expected.