T in the Park lobby row
MSP hopeful did not reveal concert firm link to council
THE would-be SNP MSP at the centre of a cronyism row involving T in the Park lobbied planning authorities on behalf of the festival without declaring she worked for it, it has emerged.
Jennifer Dempsie, who helped secure the event £150,000 in Scottish government aid, urged Perth & Kinross Council (PKC) to support its relocation from Balado, near Kinross, to Strathallan Castle, near Auchterarder.
At the time, the council had yet to approve the planning application for the three-day event, which faced strong opposition from some people locally.
Ms Dempsie, who is bidding to become an SNP list MSP for the Highlands & Islands, wrote on April 17: “PKC should support this planning application as T in the Park is of local and national importance to economy, culture and society of Scotland.
“DF Concerts have an an excellent record from 21 years experience and strong plans in place to make this a successful event at Strathallan Castle.”
She added she was “confident” of DF’s plans for “Traffic & Transport, Ecology, Ornithology, Water Management/Private Water Supplies, Noise, Project Description and the Site Selection Process.”
In a personal plea for the Strath- allan site to be approved, Ms Dempsie told planners: “Having lived in Kinross with my family running a local business there, T in the Park was a major boost to the local economy and would be the same for the Strathallan area.”
However the email failed to mention that Ms Dempsie was working on a short-term contract as a project manager for DF Concerts, the festival’s promoters, and had helped draw up its plans.
Labour MSP Claire Baker said Ms Dempsie’s email to planning officials raised questions about her judgement, though the SNP campaigner insisted her role with the concert promoter was known within the council.
Two days later a similar email in praise of the T in the Park application was sent to the council by one Peter Dempsie, understood to be Ms Dempsie’s brother.
“I am confident that DF Concerts, based on their 21 years’ experience, have effective plans in place to hold this top event including an updated Traffic Management Plan,” he wrote.
The following month, on May 28, Ms Dempsie set up a meeting between DF Concerts boss Geoff Ellis and SNP Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop.
The discussion led to Ms Hyslop, who has publicly backed Ms Dempsie’s bid to become an SNP MSP in the Highlands & Islands, signing off a £150,000 “ad hoc state aid package” on July 2.
The money is now at the centre of accusations of cronyism because of Ms Dempsie’s SNP links.
Labour culture spokeswoman Ms Baker said: “This move calls into question Ms Dempsie’s judgement.
“She was completely right to highlight the economic and cultural importance of T in the Park but failing to explain she was working for the company running T in the Park could be construed as misleading.
“I have already questioned why a multi-million festival required £150,000 worth of tax payer cash.”
Ms Dempsie, whose contract with DF Concerts ended in May, said: “I am a member of the public, not a Member of Parliament. My position with DF Concerts was well known and understood by Perth and Kinross Council, given that I had met with them during the course of the application.”