‘Victory’ for residents as Irish music festival in park is cut back from two weeks to just four days
Pictured, above, is Kilburn Grange Park, where the Irish music festival will take place
Published: 29 March, 2012
by GEORGIA GRAHAM
PLANS for a two-week Irish music festival in a public park during the Olympics have been dramatically cut back after an outcry from residents.
Vince Power, one of the biggest names in London’s live music scene, planned to take over Kilburn Grange Park for a festival with a licence that would allow music and drinking for up to 5,000 people until the very early hours.
However, 160 residents and local pressure groups objected to the plans lodged with Camden Council.
In response, Mr Power and his team have slashed the festival to just four days and halved its size.
Rather than running from late July until August 12 the plan now is to stage the live music festival from Thursday, August 9, to Sunday, August 12, with bars closed and music finished by midnight at the latest.
It will take three days to set up the event and a further two days to clear the site.
Organisers say they will now limit the capacity to 2,500 people at any one time.
Labour ward councillor Mike Katz said this represented a victory for residents.
He added: “I’m not surprised this application has been so radically scaled down, given the strength of local opinion against the original plans.
"There were 160 formal objections to the application – if that isn’t a record, it must be close.
“However, this still has to go before a licensing panel.
"If the applicant had initially proposed an event of this scale, he might not have encountered such opposition.
“We’re still talking to local people to seek their views on these changes.”
Emma Reynolds, who was amending the application on behalf of Mr Power, said: “Our aim with reducing these operational hours and event days is to show we have fully taken on board the concerns of local residents.”
These primarily concerned the length of the event, its capacity and how long the park would be out of use, she added.