Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Opposition to music festival site sees organisers’ change of MIND
Six-mile move planned to host three-day event ‘We felt because of the strength of local opposition it would not be fair to upset them’
Organisers who pulled the plug on a three-day music festival set for the outskirts of Canterbury are eyeing a new site six miles down the road.
MIND!2016 would have seen 2,000 people descend on an idyllic plot near Kingston in June for a weekend of acts across four music areas.
But the plans were dropped last month after facing strong local opposition and tough demands from council licensing officers.
Most concerns focused on access and noise disturbance, with villagers fearing gridlock on the narrow lanes.
Organisers are now proposing a slightly scaled down version at Chilli Farm in Coldred, near Dover.
Nick Mills told the Gazette: “Obviously we were disappointed with how things turned out at Kingston but we understand the concerns of local residents.
“This new site is secluded yet has great access to the A2, so I hope we can iron-out any concerns that people had.”
MIND!2016 is a charity event which will see 40% of proceeds go to the MIND mental health charity. Acts linked to the festival include Dreadzone, the Tom Hingley Band, Two Man Ting, Maya Wolff and Mental Block.
For the earlier Kingston event organisers had sought a licence for 2,000 people – 1,500 visitors and 500 performers and staff.
Mr Mills says a fresh applica- tion for the Coldred site will be scaled down to 1,500 in total.
Other than the reduced numbers, the new proposals will echo the earlier ones.
The team had sought a music licence from 4pm on Friday to 2am on Sunday, resuming again at 2pm until midnight.
An alcohol licence was sought alongside to serve cider, beer and hot toddy from three bar areas.
The Kingston site would also have offered parking for 1,200 vehicles with two separate camping areas.
At the time local villagers had expressed alarm, prompting Mr Mills and his team to look elsewhere.
“We felt because of the strength of local opposition it would not be fair to upset them,” he said.
“All three parish councils in the area objected and some even mailed local people telling how they could object.”
The new site would offer all the advantages of the previous ones without any of the disadvantages, he said.
An application would be lodged with Dover District Council in due course, he said.
The festival is to be held from Friday, June 3, with tickets priced £70 for the weekend.