‘Please don’t let us become the next Glastonbury’: Villagers’ fears over farm music festivals

By Declan Carey - Local Democracy Reporter

26th Jan 2024 | Local News

Whitebottom Farm in Compstall has gained planning permission to host music festivals - some residents are concerned, others are pleased (Image - Google Maps)
Whitebottom Farm in Compstall has gained planning permission to host music festivals - some residents are concerned, others are pleased (Image - Google Maps)

People in a historic Greater Manchester village have shared fears that they could get "another Glastonbury" on their doorstep after a farm was given the green light to use its barns and hardstanding area for music festivals.

Whitebottom Farm in Compstall, Stockport, received permission on Wednesday to host "festivals, weddings and parties" in a designated area of its land.

Residents in the village tried to stop it by submitting 69 objections, raising concerns about traffic and anti-social behaviour during events.

The farm already holds a number of festivals – including country, rock, and traditional Irish music, with events having taken place on the site for around 10 years.

Cars access the farm through the residential Montagu Street and Etherow Country Park, on a path shared by pedestrians (Image - Google Maps)

One Compstall resident on Montagu Street, who asked not to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): "They come from far and wide. You get a backlog of traffic and it's not in keeping with the area when you get thousands of people coming. I don't want another Glastonbury here."

Councillors granted permission at the Marple Area Committee on Wednesday (January 24) after hearing arguments in favour and opposing the application.

The application was first submitted to the council in March 2019.

Speaking at the meeting, resident Tony Lynch asked why Stockport council hadn't done anything to prevent previous events.

He said: "This is simply about development in the green belt adjacent to a Grade II-listed building. The report pack states that inappropriate development is harmful to the green belt and should not be approved expect in very special circumstances.

"In my view there are no special circumstances and I find the planner's recommendation a perverse decision. If it had been a simple decision, then why has it taken five years to reach this point?

"Why has no enforcement action taken place during the five years during which the application has been in, to prevent the barn's use for events, which planning officers accepted is and always has been unauthorised?"

Councillors granted permission at the Marple Area Committee on Wednesday 24 January (Image - Stockport Council)

Not everyone was against the festivals taking place.

Hazel Pargeter, 55, told the LDRS: "Not all the villagers don't like it, some help behind the bar during events. Karl – the owner – does his best to listen to the concerns. The traffic does increase, but it's only four times a year."

The application site is within the green belt, and the barns will be used for housing the farm's livestock between December and March, turning into an event space for the remaining eight months of the year.

Karl Hancock, the owner of Whitebottom Farm, told the LDRS his uncle bought the farm in 1964 and it is a family-run business.

He said: "We've used the barn for festivals for the last 10 or 11 years and we just had to get all the bits and pieces tied up. It was great to get permission so we can just carry on moving on.

"We've tried to speak to people, but they don't want to know what we've got to say. There's a traffic management plan which is tweaked every year – we work closely with the police and fire brigade on that."

~

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stockport Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our town.

To get our top stories in your inbox each week, subscribe to our free weekly newsletter HERE.

Please consider following Stockport Nub News on Facebook or Twitter

     

New stockport Jobs Section Launched!!
Vacancies updated hourly!!
Click here: stockport jobs

Share:

Related Articles

The branch of TGI Fridays at Cheadle Royal has been put up for sale, as the restaurant chain's owner falls into administration (Image - Google Maps)
Local News

TGI Fridays Cheadle up for sale as company enters administration

Rachel Bresnahan has been confirmed as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the upcoming by-election in the Bredbury Green & Woodley ward (Image - Alasdair Perry)
Local News

Liberal Democrat candidate announced for Bredbury Green & Woodley by-election

Sign-Up for our FREE Newsletter

We want to provide stockport with more and more clickbait-free local news.
To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following.
Help us survive and sign up to our FREE weekly newsletter.

Already subscribed? Thank you. Just press X or click here.
We won't pass your details on to anyone else.
By clicking the Subscribe button you agree to our Privacy Policy.