THE future of Boomtown has been secured for five years after leaders voted in favour of varying planning conditions.
This comes after the festival, which is held each year at the Matterley Bowl near Winchester, applied to the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) to extend the existing one-year planning permission for holding one music festival per calendar year, increasing it by five years until 2030.
The SDNPA Planning Committee voted unanimously to change the conditions to permit the application.
The plans were not without opposition, with several people arguing against the council granting the change.
Alison Matthews, of Avington Road, Avington, told the committee that she wanted to “give (them) an idea of what the four days of the festival are like for local people.”
She continued: “From Wednesday through to Sunday, we hear the bass almost constantly, and by Sunday, we are exhausted from lack of sleep as the music continues until 4am on two or three mornings. And as a result of the closures of gaps on the A31, we have more traffic than usual coming through the village, so we can forget about tranquillity.”
Christopher Langford, of Alresford Road, Avington, said that the committee was being asked to “hold (its) nose” and approve the changes, despite the concerns from residents.
Speaking in support of the plans, Shula Rael, applicant and one of Boomtown’s directors, said that the application had received 62 letters of support from local residents, and 18 objecting.
She continued: “We are asking for a five-year permission because it makes all of our commitments deliverable and deepens out investments in communities around the event.
Cllr Craig Manuel, from Wickham and Knowle Parish Council, addressed the committee in a personal capacity, saying that Boomtown brought “significant benefits” to the SDNP, including economically and in terms of introducing new people to the park.
The committee voted unanimously to follow the officer’s recommendations and permit the application.
The festival, which usually takes place over five days, will retain existing wooden structures associated with the event.
A Section 106 agreement is proposed for this application, which includes requirements for a Biodiversity Net Gain, Landscape and Ecology Mitigation and Management Plan (BLEMMP), continued annual monitoring, a fee toward ecology monitoring, provision for off-site Biodiversity Gain Units, updates to the Wastewater Strategy, and evidence to ensure nutrient neutrality. These measures are to remain consistent with those required in the current one-year approval.
Conditions attached to the proposed five-year temporary permission would restrict the festival to one event per year, with noise controls and requirements for submission of an Event Management Plan before each event. The permission would expire on December 31, 2030.
The application did not propose changing the allowed number of attendees.
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