For clarity, they don't have a licence unless and until the licensing panel grants one.Their application is available here: https://hounslow.app.box.com/s/vw8gm5vz4m0pw64rijh8v95hgdvmu3vyThe application includes a Friday evening session 6.30 to 10.30 limited to 4000 people and Saturday noon to 10.30 for up to 14999 including the event staff. The organisers say they expect an older crowd on the Friday evening (after work). They will be dispersed from Boston Manor but whether they will go home (what the organisers say), sleep in hotels locally or sleep rough in Brentford is debatable.I met with the organisers, an Ealing (Northfields area) councillor and various officials yesterday (I was disappointed that Linda Massey did not attend - she was invited late and in any case was unwell. Fortunately I had met with her and gone around the park with Linda, a council officer and Mel Collins a few days previously so we had a good idea of her views)The discussions yesterday centred round a number of issues:NOISE they will accept a lower DBA limit next year, reorientate the stage to face away from populated areas and employ a roving noise assessment and management crew. They will also provide a hotline number for any complaints and consult more widely - people in Ealing did not know the event was taking place this year, and most of the noise complaints came from there.ANTI SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR they have sacked the security company they employed this year and are planning to use a specialised company. They will also pay for a police team outside (and inside?) the arenaLITTERING they did do litter picking this year but they will greatly expand the area - basically they just did up to Boston Manor station and hadn't anticipated that a) quite a number of people went to Northfields because it's zone 3 and b) a lot of people strayed beyond Boston Manor station to the parade of shops just beyondGATES The pillars had apparently been damaged previously by a film crew lorry. One of the Junction 2 lorries caught a strap on the gate and this caused the pillar to swivel and fall down. That they have not been repaired is down to CarillionROADS There has been some talk of short-term road closures to expedite dispersal after the event. The argument for this is that it will help to keep attendees from approaching private gardens. There are obvious arguments against and they will need to agree traffic plans with the highways department at the council/TfLFor clarity, there is no direct income to the council from the event, though there is a payment to Carillion and the costs to the council of the Carillion contract are (allegedly) reduced by allowing Carillion to benefit from fees for this and other commercial uses. I would stress that the council is in control of this - no licence, no festival.CHARITABLE DONATIONS There was a small donation (from optional ticket surcharges) to the friends group last year. This year this went to a charity called Naturelinks. We believe this should be directed to the friends, or at least a Brentford charity, but we will also be seeking a substantial donation from the organisers themselves if the licence is granted, to be used for some local project (maybe in Boston Manor park, maybe outside). If you want to object to (or support) this licence or ask for additional conditions you need to do it by 25th October. Unlike planning licensing is quasi-judicial so any later comments will be disregarded.
Guy Lambert ● 3027d