Four festival-size events could be held in Newcastle’s Exhibition Park every year, but locals have pleaded for no repeats of the “horrendous” disturbance they suffered during the This Is Tomorrow concerts last year.
Charity bosses at Urban Green Newcastle have previously come under fire from residents and councillors for the nuisance caused by a series of rowdy music festivals organised since it was handed control of the city’s parks in 2019, which have prompted complaints of green spaces being turned into “outdoor nightclubs”. The non-profit organisation is now in a battle with authorities as it bids for a new licence to stage events and sell alcohol from Exhibition Park.
Urban Green’s plans, which came before a committee of councillors at a lengthy hearing on Wednesday, would allow for 20 events per year with between 500 and 15,000 attendees – with only four of those to be ‘high impact’ occasions with in excess of 5,000 punters, lasting no more than three days each. The charity’s representatives told Newcastle City Council’s licensing sub-committee that those major, money-spinning events were essential to generate income that can be put back into the upkeep of the 33 parks it manages and to fund smaller, community-focused activities that “simply won’t take place” otherwise.
