T IN THE PARK 2015 - LOCAL RESIDENT Q&A T in the Park is Scotland's longest running and most successful music festival. Since launching in 1994, it has grown to become one of the most recognised and respected on the world stage, winning multiple awards for its organisation, green credentials, line-up and much more. The aim of the event is to provide a well-organised, quality weekend of excellent music and fun in a safe and beautiful environment for the young people (and sometimes, not so young people) of Scotland to enjoy with their friends. That is what T in the Park has successfully delivered for the last 21 years and what it will continue to offer. Acts from across the globe have graced its stage including The Who, Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys, Beyoncé, Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Calvin Harris, Tom Jones, Daft Punk, The Killers, Paolo Nutini, Biffy Clyro, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Kylie Minogue, Texas, Sam Smith and many, many more. The event attracts 85,000 people per day but not all of these people will arrive at once, instead there is a well-managed, gradual ingress and egress. The majority of the audience camp on site with approximately 15,000 arriving as non- camping / day ticket holders each day. More than half of the audience will travel to the event on the official shuttle buses. The campsite opens on Thursday and more than 50% of the campers will arrive stretched across that day into evening. The majority of remaining campers will arrive over Friday morning. Some campers leave on Sunday evening but most will leave on Monday morning and all will have left by lunchtime. The event attracts an audience from a wide geographical area and a mixed aged spread with an approximately 50/50 male to female ratio. This audience is very loyal and also very positive and they come to the event with the sole purpose of listening to their favourite bands and having fun with their friends old and new. Over the last 18 years, the audience has enjoyed a great relationship with the communities surrounding the event. On announcing that T in the Park was leaving Balado, the organisers (and the local media) received many lovely accounts from locals with regards to their experience of the event. T in the Park takes the safety of the fans and its staff very seriously and has an excellent record in this regard. By working closely with Police Scotland and our own festival security teams, we ensure that there is a positive, safe atmosphere and zero tolerance given to any anti-social behaviour. Police Scotland have always commented that the crime levels at the festival remain low and the vast majority of the audience are simply there to have a good time and not to cause any trouble. T in the Park strives for excellence in all areas including line-up, atmosphere, organisation, facilities and welfare. The event s aim is to sit harmoniously alongside the local area and the environment. This is reflected in the fact that the festival was recently named as one of the most environmentally friendly festivals in the world by campaign and advice group, A Greener Festival for the seventh successive year. It takes two weeks for the entire site to look like there had never been a festival there. The organisers aim to leave only footprints on the ground but permanent imprints on the soul.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION Why was the venue announced and tickets put on sale subject to licence? Tickets for all outdoor events are sold subject to licence prior to local authorities granting licences. This is the case whether it is an event in a green field site in Glasgow and Edinburgh or in a football stadium. There is a recognised licensing process that is followed prior to local authorities granting permission for a concert to go ahead, so this has always been the case for T in the Park in its two previous locations. Why are DF Concerts applying for planning permission? Events and festivals don t usually require planning permission because of their temporary nature. Most events and festivals are regulated by a public entertainment licence. The key reasons that T in the Park required planning permission at Balado was because nearby Loch Leven is a Special Site of Scientific Interest and also the proximity of the BP oil and gas Forties pipeline. The results of our initial independent screening of the site meant that Perth & Kinross Council believed that Strathallan Castle did not require an Environmental Impact Assessment. However, subsequently the presence of an Osprey nest was discovered and then verified by the Scottish National Heritage. This is the reason that T in the Park requires a full Environmental Impact Assessment and requires planning permission to hold the festival on the Strathallan Castle Estate site. There are only two festivals in Britain which require Planning Permission - Glastonbury (because of a pipeline) and T in the Park. We are now working closely with independent environmental experts and the Scottish National Heritage to find the best solution for the Osprey. IMPACT ON THE LOCAL COMMUNITY What impact will traffic have on the local community? We have highly experienced traffic management consultants with an excellent reputation for designing and implementing successful traffic plans for major events all over the UK, especially in rural areas. One of the key deciding factors of choosing a new venue was ensuring that it had a workable traffic network to ensure the needs of the local community were able to be integrated into the plans for the festival goers successfully, ensuring any impact could be kept to a minimum. During the event some temporary traffic restrictions will be introduced around the locality of the site. These will form part of the event traffic management plans which will be prepared in consultation with Police Scotland, Perth & Kinross Council, Traffic Scotland, Bear Scotland and the emergency services. For specific information on the traffic management proposals see the draft traffic management summary and map. Local residents will be notified of temporary traffic restrictions and residents in the affected areas will be provided with vehicle passes to provide access to stewarded access points which will not be available for event traffic. There will be a higher volume of traffic than usual at times in the local area; however, we will be working in partnership with the agencies mentioned above to minimise any delays. There will be key times across the event when roads will be busier than others due to our customer arrivals and departures. We will be able to notify local residents of these upfront to help them plan in advance to keep any delays to a minimum. There will also be some additional traffic during the build, before the event and break, after the event. This traffic will also be managed to keep its impact to a minimum.
It is our policy to continue to attempt to reduce the number of cars attending the event from an environmental and traffic perspective. We have worked hard to create a very successful shuttle bus service and now the majority of our customers travel to T in the Park in this way, significantly reducing the number of cars. We will continue to work with our longstanding transport partner to provide shuttle buses directly to and from the event from towns and cities across the UK. We will also continue to encourage our customers to car share. What impact will noise have on the local community? Amplified music noise levels at the festival are set by Perth & Kinross Council and are encapsulated as conditions in the public entertainment licence. DF Concerts have engaged an independent noise consultant to provide advice during the planning of the event and to actively manage noise levels throughout the weekend. The Council also have a noise team working during the event to ensure compliance with the licence conditions. The festival will be audible to some living nearby, however the regulated noise levels will be reasonable as per other events. Most residents who could be affected by noise will have discussed their concerns with the festival team by now. We are very conscious that we are working near to homes and workplaces therefore we will respect and care for the environment. What impact will litter have on the local community? The event site will be completely clear of litter approximately 14 days after the event. DF Concerts litter contractor and Perth & Kinross Council will carry out a litter pick of the external boundary following the event. Local residents should report any litter concerns and they will be addressed promptly. What impact will there be on safety and security in the local community? DF Concerts will continue to work closely with Police Scotland and our security providers to ensure the safety and security of local residents. DF Concerts will continue to meet with residents in the immediate vicinity to discuss any concerns and carry out a security assessment prior to the event and any necessary security precautions would be taken. How can the local area benefit from T in the Park? We are committed to ensuring that the local community will enjoy huge benefits from staging the festival culturally and socially as well as the significant economic benefits. An economic impact study, carried out by EKOS* at the 2014 event, shows that locally, the event generated more than 2.75 million for Perth & Kinross. Just over 50% of the local economic impact was generated by the organisers own spend, by businesses used by the organisers in the local area. The overall economic impact in Scotland from the event was found to be 15.4 million (excluding media value). *EKOS are also commissioned by Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Government to carry out economic impact studies.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT Will there be any significant impact to the environment and its wildlife? Protection of the local environment is of the utmost importance to us. Balado was a Special Site of Scientific Interest so we have been used to taking the appropriate measures to protect wildlife and biodiversity interest for the last 18 years and we are following all the appropriate guidance and legislation. We carried out an environmental screening before we choose the site to ensure we could mitigate impact, protect the environment and integrate successfully. Thorough and robust management plans will be produced to protect the environment and the wildlife. We are aware of the ospreys on the site and we are actively working with SNH and RSPB to develop a range of agreed actions to protect the birds while allowing the event to continue. COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT How will you engage with the local community before, during and after the event? Local Community Forum To ensure the local community is consulted in the planning of the event and kept informed of any relevant information, a T in the Park Local Community Forum will be set up. This will include representatives from Community Councils in the surrounding area, local elected members, local MPs and MSPs, Police Scotland, and Perth & Kinross Council. DF Concerts will share information and updates regularly with this group and will invite their feedback and suggestions at regular meetings during the planning and run up to the event to work towards minimising any impact. This forum will also meet after the festival to debrief and carry forward learnings into the planning for the following year. Local Resident Leaflet Prior to the event, a local resident leaflet will be issued to thousands of homes and businesses in the local area surrounding the event site containing all the relevant information including temporary traffic restrictions, event schedule, how to get in touch throughout the weekend and much more. Local Resident Enquiry Line - how can the local community get in touch during the event? We will do everything we can to minimise any impact the proposed event may have on the local community. However, should local residents wish to make an enquiry, they would be able to contact Event Control for assistance by a private telephone line. This telephone number (advertised in the local resident leaflet) would be operation 24 hours throughout the event. All multi agencies working on the event have a representative in Event Control including security, police, fire, council so a quick response can be achieved if required. EVENT INFORMATION What are the dates of T in the Park? The proposal is for an annual music event which will take place in July each year with the first event being from Thursday 9th July to Monday 13th July 2015.
When can I buy tickets (subject to licence)? Further tickets went on sale on Friday 5th December at 9am from www.tinthepark.com for a limited time only and are the same price for the third year running. A 50 deposit scheme is also available. The main announcement and ticket on sale will take place in February 2015. When can I find out who is playing at T in the Park? We usually announce the majority of the artists who will perform around the end of February when a further batch of tickets is put on sale. The rest of the line up is announced in the lead up to the event. Register at www.tinthepark.com to be kept up to date by the T Lady. What opportunities will there be for local businesses and the local workforce? We are currently engaging with the local business community to suggest and signpost opportunities across the T in the Park supply chain. We will develop this further over the coming months in particular with local business and enterprise networks. Please check back for updates. I have a query - how can I get in touch with DF Concerts? Please submit an enquiry via the contact us section at www.dfconcertsandevents.com/tlocal