Musical interlude.

Music Lover's Dilemma

Those of you who know Paakwa know that he is a lover – indeed a player – of music. So Paakwa will be happy to hear that the so-called 'Settle Music Festival' is back on the agenda, won't he?

Mmmm...

Let's get a few facts straight about this 'festival':

Firstly: It won't be in Settle. It will be held on a low-lying flood plain largely on the west side of the A65-Rathmell road and is immediately adjacent to Rathmell village. It will virtually encompass some properties in the parishes of Giggleswick and Rathmell;

Secondly: The two would-be promoters, Mark Dale, a chef by trade, and Mike Dean (a commercial holiday cottage rental executive), have formed a limited liability shell company with no employees, no experience, and no listed assets;

Thirdly: These two organisers expect up to 29,000 people to attend the event, a maximum of 20,000 per day, arriving at the site at the rate of 1100 vehicles per hour. This equates to around one vehicle every 3 seconds trying to enter the site! Anyone who's been to a music festival will appreciate the chaos probability of that expectation!

It also demonstrates the naiveté of organisers, who expect people to turn up at a steady rate per hour. Most will arrive on Friday afternoon/evening, totally blocking the already choked A65 on the last weekend in August, one of the busiest times of the year on one of North Yorkshire's busiest roads.

Fourthly: this wildly optimistic duo are asking for volunteer (ie unpaid) staff to fill the following managerial positions:

Programme Manager

Liaison Manager

Stage Manager

Child Care Manager

Site Structures Manager

First Aid Manager

Fire Risk Manager

Security Manager

Coach Manager

Fencing & Barrier Manager

Merchandising Manager

Sponsorship Manager

Print Manager

PR & Publicity Manager

Site Communications Manager

Traffic Manager

Information & Signs Manager

Ticketing Manager

Car Park Manager

DDA Manager

Clean Up and Prep Manager

Services Manager

Environment & WiderEconomic Benefits Manager

Camping Manager

Lighting & Power Manager

Chief Steward & Marshall

Volunteer First Aid Manager? Volunteer Safety Manager? Volunteer Fire Risk Manager? And Volunteer Traffic and Security Managers?

In the words of volatile tennis star John McEnroe: "You must be joking!"

But even disregarding all the above, the most questionable part about this whole affair is that the organisers expect to make sufficient profits to be able to give away an unstated sum to 'charity'.

If this is a profit-making venture, then why is Craven District Council stated on the festival's website as being a 'joint sponsor' or 'partner' in a wholly commercial enterprise?

Why has Yorkshire Forward – an unelected Quango with lots of public money to waste (sorry invest) parted with £15,000 of our money to fund a venture whose sole purpose is to turn a profit for its promoters?

By a strange coincidence Paakwa notes that the daughter of Dixon, Craven district council's chief executive, works for Yorkshire Forward, an expensive quango which will be the subject of a future Paakwa piece on its profligacy.

And why is the Yorkshire Dales National Park named on the promoters' website as a joint sponsor or partner of the festival – when it will not be held on national park land and has nothing whatsoever to do with that body's remit?

Craven District Council has already promised £5,000 of our money to this limited liability company, apparently to cover the festival's licensing fee. Who approved this? Has it been paid to the promoters? And, if so, was it returned last year when the festival application was withdrawn after widespread public opposition?

The answer to all the questions posed above will be posted on this blog as soon as Paakwa receives them.

Meantime, Paakwaa's faithful readers may be interested to read details of a company which planned a similar festival in 2007.

http://www.creweguardian.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1572688.mostcommented.music_festival_gets_drowned_out.php#comments

Unlike the Settle Festival organisers, this company had some tangible assets. Indeed they spent around £200,000 on the festival, including £50,000 for fencing. The festival was cancelled due to rain, and those who'd bought tickets received no repayment, despite the tickets stating that they would.

Meanwhile Paakwa wonders if the organisers of the Settle Festival, if they succeed in obtaining the *permanent licence for which they've applied, will actually proceed? Or will they sell that licence to a third party on for a massive profit?

*According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'permanent' means: lasting, enduring, indefinite, continuing, perpetual, eternal, abiding, constant, persistent, irreversible, lifelong, indissoluble, indelible, standing, perennial, unending, endless, never-ending, immutable, unchangeable, unalterable, invariable, unchanging, changeless, undying, imperishable, indestructible, ineradicable.

Residents of Settle and Rathmell – be warned!