Council reviewing Boardmasters safety and traffic

People with concerns about safety and traffic problems at Boardmasters have been urged to contact Cornwall Council.

The authority has asked people to share their experiences of the Newquay festival as part of a licensing committee review.

During this year's event, seven people were taken to hospital after a crowd surge and there have been complaints raised over traffic linked to the festival.

Boardmasters said a new traffic management system at this year's event "worked well" and "experienced pit management and security teams" had been "in place across the festival".

Concerns were raised during the festival after a crowd surge occurred ahead of a performance by DJ Sammy Virji on The Point stage on 9 August.

Festival bosses said seven people were taken to hospital following the incident.

Locals have also spoken to the BBC about problems they experienced due to the increased traffic during the festival.

John Fitter, the Cornwall councillor for St Columb Minor and Colan - which includes the Watergate Bay festival site, said the event had impacted the lives of local residents.

He claimed people had missed doctors and hospital appointments and connections at Newquay Airport due to issues caused by the festival.

Mr Fitter said locals were not saying the event should be stopped, but unless it is managed properly, the festival might bring itself down.

"The feedback from the local residents is that it's all very well to say they must accept the inconvenience and they're reasonable people but where does inconvenience end and totally destroying their lives begins," he said.

Treloy Touring Park is just a few hundred yards from this year's "green gate" entrance to the festival site.

Abby Paul, who runs the site, said their experience during this year's festival had been awful.

She claimed festival organisers decided to use the green gate as a drop-off and collection area along with a point for construction and deconstruction traffic and the park and ride buses to use.

"It was just complete gridlock, it was absolutely scary," Ms Paul said.

"There were times when you couldn't enter or leave the site."

Boardmasters said roads were busy on the first day of the event as people arrived at the site, but plans were implemented to alleviate problems caused by this.

"The new traffic management system worked well in managing the flow of traffic during peak arrivals, and for the remainder of the festival, through which we saw no further delays or slow moving traffic," a spokesperson said.

They added a plan to reduce traffic impact on nearby Porth was achieved and a festival shuttle bus service was operational throughout the event.

Cornwall Council said anyone who wanted to share their experiences from the festival should email the authority's licensing department.

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