HOME COMFORTS
Region’s music festival gets permanent home after £5m deal for farm
A YORKSHIRE music festival has moved to secure its future by buying a permanent home in the form of a farm just outside of Leeds.
The MiNT music festival, now in its 10th year, has invested £5m in a new 136-acre location at Newsam Green Farm.
The farm is located 10 minutes from Leeds city centre and keeps it close to its spiritual home in the city.
The festival is organised by the team behind the MiNT brand, which includes the famous The MiNT Club and MiNT Warehouse, have been running the electronic music festival for a decade.
Previous events have attracted the likes of Craig David and Mercury Music Prize winner Skepta to its stages.
The festival has historically been staged at a range of venues including Wetherby Racecourse, Tetley Brewery, Stockeld Park and more recently The RAF base at Church Fenton.
However, the new site, established at Newsam Green Farm, will now offer a permanent base becoming Yorkshire’s first ever dedicated festival site.
Festival founder, Shane Graham, said: “We have taken MiNT Festival all over Leeds, Wetherby and as far as Lincoln showground in search for a home that provided an atmosphere the attendees deserve.
“We have been looking for a permanent site for the last three years and have finally found the location that ticks all the boxes.
“We are extremely happy to have acquired the farm; not only is it 10 minutes out of the city centre, but it also boasts acres of greenery, woodland and amazing views that make the perfect background for a music festival.
“Now that we have a permanent home, we can channel our energies into developing the amazing features and make sure Leeds is home to one of the best festival sites in the UK.”
Newsam Green Farm is based
near Temple Newsam, just off junction 45 on the M1 and 10 minutes from the city centre.
Originally an open coal mine and then a livestock farm, it extends over 136 acres and comprises a farmhouse, a range of agricultural buildings, 123 acres of grassland and woodland.
From its fields one can enjoy views of Leeds city centre.
Baz Arjomand, co-owner, said: “Our long-term vision for the farm is to continue to develop the concept whilst trying to maintain as many of the original natural features on the site as possible.
“The bricked garden orchard will be home to one of the arenas and we plan to incorporate some of the outbuildings into our VIP and food villages.
“By purchasing our own venue, it allows us to invest in the long-term infrastructure, providing purpose-built arenas with incomparable sound quality – something that the MINT brand prides itself on.”
Like all music festivals and mass gatherings the MiNT Festival was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is currently scheduled to return on September 25, with organisers promising its “biggest and best line-up to date”.
Baz continued: “Due to Covid-19, last year’s event was postponed and all existing tickets were transferred to this year’s event.
“As soon as the roadmap was revealed demand for tickets went through the roof, and we sold six months of tickets in less than 48 hours.
“The appetite for the event has been phenomenal. We have been working extremely closely with the safety advisory officers at Leeds City Council and the event has been granted a license for up to 15,000.
“With only a couple of thousand tickets remaining once we announce the artist line-up, we expect to sell-out.”
The MiNT Festival specialises in primarily electronic music and has established itself in the national calendar of such events.
The festival welcomes only those over the age of 18 and sells its tickets via its own website.