Decision on Boardmasters Cornwall bid to reach 66k capacity

The bid was ultimately unsuccessful with a Cornwall Council licensing committee allowing increased capacity but for just 58,000 – including staff, performers and non-ticket holders – for the years 2024 to 2026, with councillors citing concerns raised at a five-hour online meeting today (Wednesday, February 14).

Owners of the nearest business to the festival site at Trebulsue Farm, Watergate Bay, near Newquay, said they were “terrified” by the application and a health and safety officer listed a number of issues if capacity was increased to 58,000 this year, then 65,000 in 2025 and 66,000 in 2026.

Her worries included evacuation of an increased number of festival-goers in an emergency, the effects of severe weather on young ticket holders, welfare facilities being “overwhelmed” and one of the car parks being particularly “chaotic” last year.

Vision Nine, the company behind the festival, stressed that it was constantly making changes to improve facilities and safety on site, and a planning application in tandem with the licensing application for increased capacity would make the festival site bigger and include improvements for pedestrians and the transport system.

Matthew Phipps, legal representative for Boardmasters, told the licensing committee that the festival is an “unashamedly and extremely successful event with a national and international reputation and profile. It has regularly grown over the years. In 2011 it had a capacity of about 15,000, in 2014 20,000, 30,000 in 2015, 40,000 in 2016, 50,000 in 2017”.

There was no event in 2019 when it was cancelled due to bad weather. “We took, and have taken repeatedly through the years, the responsible rather than the commercially advantageous decision. What Boardmasters have always done is the right thing.

“We make no attempt to cover the fact that there are always improvements that can be made – that is the nature of large-scale events,” he said, adding that Boardmasters’ safety advisory group, which includes emergency services and council officers, held an “extremely positive” debrief event following the 2023 festival.

Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service had no objections to the increase in capacity as long as certain conditions concerning access and size of crowds were adhered to. There had not been any representations from Devon and Cornwall Police or child safety protection officers, “which we believe is of very real significance,” added Mr Phipps. “With an age profile like we have, which is perhaps younger than many other large-scale music events, we say this is important and a point for consideration.”

There had been “lots of very significant” dialogue with local residents and businesses, which had generated just eight representations against the licensing application. “We say that says something very positive about this event; that there are only eight representations from other persons after we’ve engaged with 727 residents as part of our pre-application consultation,” said Mr Phipps.

Prior to the increased capacity bid, the Boardmasters team had also engaged with 23 local businesses, 50 Boardmasters Foundation applicants, distributed emails to parish councillors and Newquay BID, hosted two consultation meetings in January and sent letters to local residents.

Health and safety findings

The organisers challenged the suggestion by Cornwall Council health and safety officer Ann Marie Jameson that there were issues with medical delivery on site last year, citing an excellent relationship with the ambulance service, and medical cover which goes “over and above” national guidance for large events.

“We take very seriously our duty of care to our attendees,” said Mr Phipps. “There is a significant team involved in safeguarding, with documents provided to the committee outlining the team’s expertise and experience. Any suggestion that there is something wrong with Boardmasters I entirely refute.”

Ms Jameson told councillors she had overseen the festival over the past ten years and worked closely with the festival management team during the build stage and during the event itself. “That has given me a huge amount of knowledge of the festival.” She was one of the consultees, alongside blue light services, who the festival contacted in 2019 to discuss whether it should be cancelled due to stormy conditions.

“I support any business that wants to expand as long as it’s done at the right time and in a safe way. I certainly appreciate the economic impact that this event does bring to the county, but from my perspective I cannot focus on that – I have to look at safety,” she said.

She stressed everything written in her report was factual and as a result of her concerns did not think the festival should go above 58,000.

Ms Jameson said documents were filed by Boardmasters last Thursday, February 8, outlining how the festival could look with substantial changes from 2024 onwards, including increases in staff for medical welfare.

She said a new medical company was used two years ago that wasn’t suitable or efficient, and a new medical company was brought in partway through the festival to help manage the situation “as it got out of control”. “The organisers co-ordinated this with South West Ambulance and it was very well managed,” she said.

The health and safety officer added that 35 welfare beds, based on the campsite, were full on one occasion and when festival-goers were brought over from the arena’s welfare centre, after it closed at night, there were no available beds and people had to sleep on the floor. “To me, that is a system that is overwhelmed,” she added.

Ms Jameson said that a number of issues that had been raised in her report had been addressed, but they were “theoretical and hadn’t been tested”.

“The plans that have been sent to us for 2024 and subsequent years show significant changes on site and we don’t know how that will work operationally. If it was a small area of the site they’re adjusting that’s easier to manage, but if you’re adjusting a huge area of the site that’s an awfully big undertaking.

“I can’t knock the organisers. The plans they have on site are very good, but despite having those plans and policies, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re not going to have issues on site, which is what we’ve had every year for a lot of years.”

She believed the proposed changes should be proven to work on site before the capacity is increased, but understood Boardmasters’ economic reticence to do that.

The area’s Cornwall councillor John Fitter aired concerns about the traffic impact on the local roads system, as raised by Newquay residents, and could not willingly agree to an increase in capacity.

Cllr Joanna Kenny, of Newquay Town Council, said the authority supported Boardmasters but there had been failures with the traffic management plan. “There are problems – will these new plans resolve them? It’s very much ‘jam tomorrow’. Is there any point in increasing the numbers until we know that these new plans will work?”

She agreed with Ms Jameson’s compromise to increase it by a small amount this year and make sure that works, before increasing it again.

Upset local businesses

Abby and Richard Paull, who run neighbouring Treloy Touring Park, addressed the committee. Mrs Paull said: “This application absolutely terrifies us – everything from the sale of alcohol to 4am, different events going on till 4am and the impact of the traffic. We’re the business that’s most affected by Boardmasters in a negative way.

“There are breaches of security every year; revellers break in and try and use our showers. We’ve had drug dealers in our entrance trying to deal to the festival-goers, so we’ve had to barricade our entrance with fencing, which is obviously not desirable in any way. It fundamentally changes the nature and feel of our five-star campsite.”

She added: “We feel that Boardmasters has grown and grown to such a massive extent that it has far outweighed any positive impact on Newquay. We’re not against the event but we feel that it has reached capacity.”

Gwen Jennings, who runs neighbouring Watergate Bay Holiday Park, said her business had never been approached for feedback by Boardmasters. She added that the holiday park had to employ security to stop festival-goers using the park’s showers and toilets, and that reception staff had been threatened on more than one occasion by Boardmasters attendees who had been asked to leave.

After hearing these submissions, Mr Phipps responded: “A suggestion that medical and welfare facilities were overrun is a damning observation. It is incorrect and not right. The medical provider said at no point were they overwhelmed”.

He said that South West Ambulance Service’s silver commander had also said there was no evidence of the medical facility being overwhelmed. Mr Phipps said companions are allowed to stay with friends or partners who were in medical or welfare beds, which may have led to the perception that it was “overwhelmed”.

He added that the event already has a 4am alcohol licence and said Boardmasters had done its best to engage with Treloy campsite and would continue to seek to engage. The team said that they would happily meet concerned locals following the meeting no matter what the decision was.

After debating the application in private, the committee agreed to grant the licence with conditions, but for a maximum capacity 58,000, inclusive of staff, performers and non-ticket holders, for the years 2024 to 2026.

Could get even bigger

Members were concerned about the incremental increase to a maximum capacity of 66,000 over three years and the effect that would have on public safety. They took into account issues about last year’s festival, effects of changes in the weather, the age demographic of a large amount of festival-goers being under 21, hygiene problems in 2022 with a “lack of water and overflowing toilets”, the adverse impact on medical and welfare facilities, infrastructure problems with such a large event in the Newquay area and traffic management plan issues.

Earlier in the meeting Cllr Phil Seeva asked what would happen if Boardmasters wasn’t allowed an increase in numbers.

Its CEO Andrew Topham said: “Like any business we want to grow and prosper sustainably – we believe this staged growth over three years is sustainable. We’ve had about a 40 per cent cost base increase and we don’t want to pass it on to our consumers. It’s really important to us that particularly local people do not get priced out of attending Boardmasters. If we put our ticket price up by 40 per cent it would be cost prohibitive and very limiting on who could actually attend the festival.

“The growth helps us economically and helps us invest more money into the show. It’s acknowledged how much we’ve invested into the safety and infrastructure of the festival over the last five years, and we want to continue to do that. We aspire to be the best and safest festival in the country. Without that growth it makes it very difficult.”

He added: “When we have a capped capacity when we’re selling out, which we have been since 2017, every time we add a member of staff that means we’re not selling a ticket. That makes a difficult economic problem for us.

“We want to add more and more layers of security, traffic management and anything that enhances the festival operation but to do that ultimately means more capacity.”

Following the meeting, he said: “We’re delighted that Cornwall Council has granted us permission to expand Boardmasters to a new total capacity of 58,000 from this summer. Thank you to Cornwall Council, the residents who took time to provide their valuable feedback and to all of the relevant parties who have supported us on this journey.

“We have an incredible show lined up this year, with headliners Stormzy, Chase & Status and Sam Fender, and a wealth of music and surf talent. As always, we will continue our hard work to produce a world-class festival in Cornwall.”