WE’LL LEARN OUR LESSONS
FOUNDER APOLOGISES FOR FLOOD FIASCO AND SAYS ORGANISERS ARE DEALING WITH INSURANCE CLAIMS AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE
THE founder of Festival No 6 have said organisers were ‘truly sorry’ for the park and ride flood fiasco which left thousands of vehicles trapped in mud.
Gareth Cooper said lessons would be learnt and implemented ahead of next year’s event which he promised to be the “best ever”.
And he said organisersisers were working around the clock ‘at no small cost’ to deal with insurance claims. s.
Thousands of carss were stuck in axledeep mud on land close to Porthmadog Football Club after torrential rain hit the music and arts festival held at nearby Portmeirion n earlier this month. ●
Organisers were heaveavily criticised for using g fields in the Glaslyn estuaryry that are known to flood.
But Mr Cooper said they would have never knowingly risked people’s property or the festival’s reputation.
“The weather we experienced this year at Festival No 6 was extreme to say the least and it was certainly our most challenging festival to date,” he said.
“The consequent ordeal faced by people at the park and ride was awful and for that we are truly sorry.
“However, despite the rumours and unfounded accusations flying around, we had no way of knowing this would happen and had no warning to that effect until the flood was lite literally in progress. Why would we knowinglyingl risk people’s propertypr and our reputation?u It simply m makes no sense.” Tractors were brought in to tow thousands of vehicles from the mudbathb and some strandedstr festivalgoersgoer were forced to spend a night in the nearby Glaslyn Leisure centre.centre NumerousNum cars were damaged. Mr Cooper thanked the local community for its help in dealing with the parking chaos. He added: “We are also sorry if some people feel our lack of personal contact with them over the last week has been misconstrued as uncaring. I can assure you this is absolutely not the case. “Large scale claims like this can take a while to resolve – we have worked around the clock to push this through at no small cost to ourselves and hopefully we have reached a conclusion in record time that will satisfy everyone affected. “Ultimately Festival No 6 is a labour of love for us. We work year round to create the best event we possibly can - one of the best festivals in the world we believe. And we couldn’t do it without the help and support of the local community.
“This strong relationship was demonstrated once again during the parking situation when people from across the region helped us and helped those drivers and for that we thank all of them.”
He added: “We are absolutely committed to Porthmadog, Portmeirion and North Wales.
“Its stunning scenery and spirited people are in the very DNA of Clough’s vision and at the heart of No 6.
“Lessons have been learnt this year and will be implemented along with support from the community and the council to ensure the sixth No 6 in 2017 will be the best ever.”