Glastonbury Festival has been granted a new licence to run until 2016, the full details of which are below.
Some highlights of the new licence are
- Licence granted until 2016
- The Park to open on Thursday and licensed until 3am each night.
- Car parks open from 9pm on Tuesday
- Campervan fields open from midday Tuesday
- Shangri La to be made larger
Official notification from Mendip District Council
Glastonbury Festival granted licence
11 February 2010
One of the world’s biggest festivals has secured a licence for the next six years – the first time it’s been granted without a public hearing.
From this year Glastonbury Festival will be able to use its new premises licence to hold the event at Worthy Farm, Pilton, Somerset, until 2016.
In the past, Glastonbury Festival’s licences have been subject to scrutiny in a public hearing because of objections from the public or concerns from those with an interest in the safety of the event such as the police, fire or ambulance services.
However, the new application, submitted by festival director Melvin Benn, has received few comments and almost no objections.
There had initially been some concern from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service about fire provision on site, however negotiations between fire chiefs and festival organisers have resolved these issues.
- Some of the key facts from the new licence include:
- No change in the number of ticket-holder and staff (177,500)
- The total amount of sound generated from stages will not increase
- The hours of alcohol sales will not increase
- The main emphasis behind security plans will remain the same
- The provisions of welfare and medical services will remain the same
One of the key issues to affect last year’s festival was concerns over the amount of traffic heading towards the site before the festival properly got underway on the Friday.
As part of their new licence, organisers now have contingency plans in place to help minimise disruption to motorists and local residents.
Since the application was submitted on December 23, various organisations have had a chance to view it and add their views and resolve any issues with organisers from experts in public safety, noise management, fire, police, ambulance and many others.
The public was also given a chance to make their views known during a four-week consultation period.
Cllr Nigel Hewitt-Cooper, who is portfolio holder for neighbourhood services which includes licensing, said: “The partnership work between Mendip District Council, festival organisers and other authorities, and the dedication to continually improve this event every year, means that this new application has received very few comments.
“This is all down to the effective working relationships we have, and the drive to make this one of the best-run festivals in the world – and this has been rewarded in the past on a national level.
“But we aren’t complacent – just because Glastonbury Festival now has a licence until 2016, this doesn’t mean it escapes the close scrutiny that any event this size will have. We will continue to work with the organisers to ensure this remains one of the safest events anywhere, and if we have any doubts about this we will take action.
“We recognise how important it is to get this world famous event right, and the huge impact that it has on the local area and community, both positive and negative. It is our job as the local district council to ensure we use the opportunities it brings and mitigate the effects it has on local people – and we are confident that the new licence takes these issues on board and addresses any concerns.”
This year’s Glastonbury Festival is expected to take place on June 25, 26 and 27.
The Licence application
Jason Kirkwood
Licensing Manager
Mendip District Council
Cannards Grave Road
Shepton Mallet
Somerset
BA4 5BT29th January 2010
Dear Jason
Glastonbury Festival 2010 – 2016 Premise Licence Application
After a very successful meeting and subsequent discussions with your colleagues I am pleased to be able to provide details of agreed amendments to the Operating Schedule and additional information to be added to documents contained within the Event Management Plan.
The letter also details slight amendments to the application form that was submitted as part of the formal application.
I have also responded to all representations received from your colleagues since the submission of my premise licence application which have been addressed within this letter.
As agreed with you during a meeting on 12.01.10 I shall:
Provide Mendip District Council with two copies of the updated version of Operating Schedule Version 4; which will include 1 x tracked copy and 1 x non tracked copy.
Provide Mendip District Council with a cover letter detailing all amendments
Provide an electronic version of this letter to all other Responsible Authorities
Provide a copy of this letter as a courtesy to Pilton Parish Council and other non statutory agencies
The following areas of the Premise Licence will remain unchanged:
The start (opening) times and finishing (departure) times of the event period remain the same; i.e. 08:00hrs on the Wednesday through to 17:00hrs on the Monday.
The capacity of public shall not increase
The total output of the stages in terms of noise will not increase
The hours of alcohol sales will not increase
The principles for the security plans will remain the same
The principles of the medical and welfare provisions will remain the same
Amendments to Operating Schedule Version 4
Section A3 – Crowd Safety – I am happy to include the following paragraphs that MDC have asked to be added to the Operating Schedule:
The Premises Licence Holder shall assess in consultation with crowd dynamics experts the crowd safety implications of changing the classification of the Park providing entertainment until 03:00 on Thursday evening/Friday morning and implement suitable control measures in consultation with and to the satisfaction of the Licensing Authority as soon as possible and not later than two months before the event in 2010.
The Premises Licence Holder shall assess in consultation with crowd dynamics experts the crowd safety implications of altering the main stages finish time and implement suitable control measures in consultation with and to the satisfaction of the Licensing Authority as soon as possible and not later than two months before the event in 2010.
The Premises Licence Holder shall provide information on the independent crowd dynamics team to be present at each event and the mechanisms by which the team’s findings of the team will be communicated with the Licensing Authority at least two months before each event. Information to include name and business address of team lead, relevant experience, numbers employed in the team as well as detail on the teams terms of reference.
The Premises Licence Holder shall provide information on the Crowd Safety Assessment carried out in 2009 and detail of how any findings are to be implemented in 2010 as soon as possible and not later than two months before the event in 2010
Section B7 – Overrun Procedure – This paragraph has been amended to ensure that MDC are notified of any overrun by the Premise Licence Holder and will now read:
This document has been produced to outline the procedures that are in place at Glastonbury Festival to help prevent stage over-runs, particularly in reference to the main stages. In the unlikely event that an overrun occurred the PLH would seek to alleviate the potential impact by ending the over-run as soon as possible, predominantly with regards to ensuring crowd safety and compliance with licence conditions. If an overrun was to occur the PLH would be expected to inform the Licensing Authority.
Section B10 – Noise Management – Addition of agreed offsite db levels as agreed with MDC Officers at a meeting on 11th January and in subsequent dialogue.
Section B10 – Noise Management – The Licence Condition regarding audible and discernable will remain as:
In the particular case of entertainment on the Licensed Site occurring outside the periods specified for principal and lesser stages, such sound sources shall not be audible and discernible when assessed at the boundary of any noise sensitive premise (as defined in Code of Practice on Environmental Noise Control at Concerts – Noise Council 1995). This condition shall not apply to the sound testing of stages carried out on the Thursday of the festival. For clarification “periods specified for principal and lesser stages” shall have the same meaning.
Section B10 – Noise Management – I have added a table, as requested by MDC, which shows total acoustic power by each time period and also shows the overall total of all sound systems on site excluding those under 200w.
Section B10 – Noise Management – Classification of Stages is shown in the addition of a table in this section of the Operating Schedule. I have also confirmed in this section that no system over 12kW will operate after the curfew of the stages classified in Groups A, B and C. Any changes in stage names will be clarified within the Noise Management Plan as part of the Event Management Plan.
Section B10 – Noise Management – To comply with MDC request this paragraph has been amended to read that if any substantive complaint is received during the period when sound checks or any extended checking takes place all sound checks will cease.
Section D5 – Environmental Plan (Water Supply Plan) – the text within this section has been amended to comply with MDC officers request to supply details of the plan detailing the whole water supply distribution system no less than two months before the event period which shall include details of a risk assessment of the distribution system and contingency planning should a failure occur.
Amendments to the MDC Application Form
Section B – The exhibition of films will take place both indoors and outdoors
Section E – The terms ‘principal & lesser’ stages and subsequent times of opening should now refer to Stages classified as Groups A. & B.
Amendments to be added to the Event Management Plan
B10 Noise Management Plan – It is noted with thanks that due to our agreement to the points above MDC do not intend to object to venues (not stages) in the Park area operating until 03:00 Thursday/Friday, and shall continue to operate as a late night area times on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday, this will be reflected within the EMP detailed in the Noise Management Plan (B10) and the Hours of Operation (B2).
Details regarding ‘sign off’ sheets for all area coordinators with relation to times of operation of areas and total sound output will be contained within the Noise Management Plan.
E1 Traffic Management Plan – I am proposing to open the car parks from 21:00 hrs on the evening of the Tuesday before the festival opens. My reasons for this are that if as in 2009 a large amount of people travel to the site before the actual site is open we will at least be able to get the cars off of the public highway which I hope will help local people who are trying to get home and to work on the Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning.
All infrastructure in these areas will be in place in time for when these areas to open to the public, i.e. I will ensure that there are enough toilets, lighting, signage and stewards. Refreshment will not be provided in the car parks but a provision of water will be made available.
Further information shall be available within the Traffic Management Plan (E1 of the EMP) and detail regarding the siting of toilets in the car parks shall be detailed with the Environmental Plan which contains the Sanitary Appliances Plan.
There will be ticket checks on vehicles entering into the car parks so that we can ensure no cars are entering that are not carrying ticket holders. The Security Control tent will be in operation to ensure communication with the car parks, campervan fields; this is only for the festival management team and not statutory agencies. Pre festival medical cover will also be in place and I shall discuss the implications of the car parks opening at this time with all agencies involved at multi agency meetings.
Any refuse left by ticket holders within the car parks will be removed immediately to ensure litter is not blown onto adjoining land or the public highways.
The Traffic Management Plan will also contain information regarding how we intend to deal with issues that arose in 2009.
F5 Caravan & Campervan Management Plan – I am also proposing to open the existing campervan/caravan areas and the new campervan/caravan area on the West of the site on midday of the Tuesday before the licence period begins. My reasons for this is that in 2009 it appeared that a substantial amount of the early arrivals where campervans and caravans which then queued to get into site or parked outside peoples residencies both of which had a subsequent effect on the public highways.
Therefore, as with my proposal to open the car parks, being able to remove these large vehicles from the public highways particularly during peak traffic periods will be a great asset to managing the traffic on the local highways.
With regards to this proposal I can commit to ensuring that all infrastructure will be in place for the use of these areas and will include signage, lighting, fencing, water/toilets, stewarding and security personnel. It is also likely that I will apply for a temporary event notice
Vehicular access in to the new campervan and caravan fields will be via Stickleball Lane and I can confirm that the appropriate level of security and stewarding will be provided.
B11 Site Plan – The changes at VG5 (Red Gate) are due to the reduction in the use of what was formally the bus drop off area. This means we are able to utilise this area to ‘soak up’ the equivalent queuing distance which will therefore reduce the queues through this area.
B11 Site Plan – The change in the fence line means that we are able to move PGD to ensure that ticket holders have safe access from the new car parks (grid reference N – 5) across the old railway line and into the main site.
I can confirm there will be a pedestrian access point on the south side, as in 2009 and known as Pennard Gate which will feature the telemetry system that is operated on all other pedestrian gates.
E2 Onsite Traffic Management Plan – With reference to the new public campsites to the West of Concrete Road. Access into the main site will be via the use of tunnels under the concrete road and/or stewarded pedestrian crossings and shall involve use of loud hailers, high viz clothing and will be well lit. We will also look at the appropriateness of laying speed bumps to slow traffic down before reaching pedestrian crossing points.
During the event period continuous risk assessments are completed across the whole site to look for areas that may have been compromised by adverse weather conditions that could affect vehicle movement and/or cause safety issues, this will also be referenced within the Onsite Traffic Management Plan which shall be provided to MDC no less than 1 month before the event which is referenced within the Operating Schedule and also appendix C to the OS the Key Schedule of Dates.
To address the concern from MDC as to how the public in the new campervans and caravan fields to the south west of the site will access the festival site, I can confirm this public will enter the main site through VG3b which will become a pedestrian gate and will feature the telemetry system which we have at all pedestrian gates.
B9 Villages Proposal – I am very happy to include within the EMP more information regarding liaison with Pilton and the surrounding villages and would welcome consultation with MDC on the content of the letters that are sent to local residents as to specific areas covered. I can also commit to providing details of site working hours within the letters sent to local residents and will of course also continue to consult with Pilton Parish Council during the GFL/PPC meetings.
A4 Site Risk Assessment – Concerns of the proximity of heavy goods vehicles us to the new public camp sites sited to the West of the Concrete Road will be dealt with within the site wide risk assessment as will any other relevant risks affecting this area.
F1 Camping Management Plan - Concerns that has arisen from 2009 regarding a small number of campsite stewards not being able to access the site to be ready to start work when the event period commences has already been addressed with the Campsite Site manager who has requested that teams arrive 24 hours earlier to ensure there are no problems accessing the site and also to help ‘police’ any staff camping in public areas before the site is open to the public.
The new campsites will of course have all the same provisions as all other public campsites on site in that all appropriate infrastructure will be provided i.e. water/toilet points, campsite stewards and bases, lighting, security etc. further details of exact water/toilet points shall be detailed within the Environmental Policy as part of the Event Management Plan.
Family camping areas were extended in 2009 with a third site being created just inside PGD; this campsite did not reach full capacity in 2009. The Campsite Manager is going to brief all family campsite stewards to have a more stringent approach as to who camps in these areas.
A1 Health and Safety – The health and safety policy will ensure that CORGI registered engineers is changed to GAS SAFE registered engineers, and confirm that they are authorised to carry out the correct non-domestic checks. The change has also been acknowledged within the information that is sent out to traders
The use of ‘soap boxes’ is to ensure that stewards working in densely populated areas are able to have sight lines above head height.
D5 Environmental Policy (Water Supply Plan) – With regards to MDC officers concerns about illegal connections – at all future festivals illegal connections will be checked by a new small team of staff who will answer to Claire Potten and Alison Dolly, senior sanitary inspection team leaders. Letters will be sent to all market traders making it clear that anyone found to have an illegal connection will be either prevented from trading or be evicted from the site.
The low pressure experienced in some areas at the previous festival will be dealt with by including them in the new extended ring main being installed or by new static tanker locations that will be refilled through the new increased supply from Bristol Water that could reach some of the off site locations.
All water point will be renumbered this year in liaison with MDC. Signage for water/toilet points will be increased and improved for 2010.
We are currently investigating the best taps for the site through one of the local plumbers merchants and will again liaise with MDC when suitable taps for a blanket renewal programme for this year has been confirmed. The peggler taps that were considered will not withstand the seven bar pressure on site and is the reason why we are continuing our research.
The water sampling will include more tests than included in previous years although quality should improve with the majority of water being provided through the category five reservoir that will have up to 28 litres a second being delivered all day and night next year these are points shall be discussed with MDC before the commencement of the 2010 event. I am happy to ensure the water supply plan is finalised two months before the event period.
I have informed GFL’s Commercial Manager that the phone number contained within the Traders Information letter should change to the new customer services number.
Miscellaneous Additional Points
The Major Incident Plan (EMP B1.) it is noted that there will be amendments to the Major Incident Plan which will be discussed at Major Incident Planning meetings and shall be reflected in the final MIP once agreed by the multi agency attendees at these meetings
The GFL Response to MDC Scrutiny Board recommendations shall be addressed as part of the EMP and will be via consultation with MDC officers.
Shangri La will extend into Clapps Ground and further details of entertainment taking place in this area shall be contained within the Noise Management Plan.
In relation to the point regarding the use of loud hailers being used offsite and subsequent complaints – I was unaware of this issue but can confirm that loud hailers will not be used offsite with the caveat that they would only be used in the event of an emergency or major incident.
In response to the point about inclusion of ‘dogs running lose’ within the risk assessment – I do not believe that this is an issue of enough gravitas to be added into the Risk Assessment and with agreement of MDC I would therefore like to address this issue through dialogue with the RSPCA who are onsite to take receipt of any animals that are bought to the festival and also in an advisory capacity with regards to the wildlife onsite. If this is acceptable I will inform MDC of the outcome of the dialogue with the RSPCA.
To recap from the original letter submitted with the Premise Licence Application and for information I will be applying for one or more temporary event notices for the service of late night refreshment to cover the 24 hour period before the licence period commences at 08:00 am on Wednesday 23rd June, this is in relation to the campervan and caravan fields and not in relation to car parks.
I hope all of the above covers all of the issues that have been raised by your colleagues and l look forward to working with all at Mendip District Council on another successful festival.
Yours sincerely
Melvin Benn
Director/Premise Licence Holder
Glastonbury Festival
