T In The Park under threat from council after dossier outlines 2015 chaos

'We will not be disappointing ourselves, Perth and Kinross Council, the local community and especially our fans in 2016' - organisers

T In The Park 2016 is under threat of cancellation despite having already sold thousands of tickets, after a council report outlined a number of major organisational issues with last year’s event.

The 2015 event was the first to be held in Strathallan, and the local Perth & Kinross Council have commented that they feel that confidence in promoter DF Concerts has been “undermined” by issues at last year’s event, which include problems with traffic congestion, crowd control both inside the festival arena and in the campsite, and disruption of local residents. Last minute changes to infrastructure and breaches of planning permission at the 2015 event have also been cited.

Barbara Renton, Environmental Director at the local council, told The Scotsman:

Advertisement

“Council staff will need substantial reassurances and evidence from DF that detailed plans will be prepared on time, and the event will be delivered more effectively, before officers could have confidence in recommending it takes place at Strathallan again.

“Officers had a high degree of confidence in DF Concerts and expected that organisers could manage fundamental event requirements such as stewarding and signage. This confidence has been undermined following management of TITP 2015. There requires to be a recalibration of the relationship with DF Concerts”

The report can be read here.

NMEAndy Willsher/NME

Contributions from the taxpayer of £150,000 had previously helped to keep the event in Scotland in 2015.

T In The Park – who have already announced the employment of two former police officers to help with next year’s event – have released a statement in response to the council, saying:

“We have worked with Perth and Kinross Council for the last 20 years to deliver T in the Park. We’re incredibly disappointed that, for the first time, we did not achieve the high standards of event management and customer service that we have set for ourselves which the Council and our customers have, quite rightly, come to expect.

Advertisement

“We note all points of Perth and Kinross Council’s report as published and remain focused on implementing key changes for 2016. We will not be disappointing ourselves, Perth & Kinross Council, the local community and especially our fans in 2016 and in truth, we look forward to being able to demonstrate that.

“Just last week, we confirmed some new appointments to our management team. APL Events will now oversee the festival site management overseeing the necessary alterations to improve the onsite experience.

“We also announced the appointment of Colin Brown as Security Manager and Ian Martin as Traffic Manager. Colin Brown, was formerly Superintendent for Emergency, Event and Resilience Planning for the north region of Police Scotland and has led the police operation in planning for T in the Park for several years.

“Ian has worked on the local roads of Perth and Kinross for over 20 years, and has also worked on the road planning for T in the Park since its first year at Balado.

“These are just the first examples of the important changes that both Perth & Kinross council and our valued audience can expect for 2016. We’re entirely focused on delivering a fun, safe and successful festival that reminds everyone why T in the Park became Scotland’s favourite music festival in the first place.”

The Stone Roses, Disclosure, The 1975 and Courteeners have been announced for T In The Park 2016 to date, with the event scheduled for July 8th to 10th at Strathallan Castle in Perthshire.

You May Also Like

Advertisement

TRENDING

Advertisement

More Stories