Concert plan 'to rival Glastonbury' (From Free Press Series)

Concert plan 'to rival Glastonbury'

PLANS for some of music's biggest stars to headline a two-day concert at Chepstow Race-course this summer have been postponed.

But an even bigger festival is now in the pipeline for next year - with organisers hoping it will rival Glastonbury as one of the UK's biggest summer attractions.

Freefall Events Limited - the Caldicot-based company behind the £1.5million concert - decided to postpone this year's event because of concerns they wouldn't be able to get tickets out on sale in time and because issues surrounding traffic management and health and safety had not been full addressed to the satisfaction of the council.

If they had risked going ahead with the original dates of July 31 and August 1 this year and the event had fallen through, then around £750,000 of local investors' cash would have been lost.

Freefall Events have instead promised an even better festival next year that will not only mean some of the biggest bands in music playing at Chepstow Racecourse, but also a massive injection of cash into the local economy.

"We wanted to do every properly and that means getting all the safety issues right and making sure the local community is put through the minimum of inconvenience. We are not in this to smash and grab, we want it to be right," said Free Fall Events managing director Paul Smith.

To do that the company has enlisted the help of some big music names, including Night Train Promotions, who are responsible for Scotland's biggest music event - T in the Park - and Mark Ward, who has helped stage concerts for Madonna and David Bowie.

But already the idea of a music concert at Chepstow Racecourse - with a predicted capacity of around 50,000 fans - has been greeted with concern by some local residents and councillors near the venue.

County councillor Donald Spencer, who is also a member of St Arvans Community Council, which covers the area near the racecourse, said he had reservations about the proposals.

"When they (Free Fall Events) put forward their preliminary application to the council they did not have a traffic management plan nor an environmental health assessment," said Mr Spencer.

"Dependent on the size of the audience, traffic is a big issue. Weekend race day traffic is just about manageable, but when you are talking about anything above that you are then doubling the problem."

Monmouthshire County Council is said to have had concerns regarding traffic congestion and the 72-page health and safety plan conducted by top-expert Alan Law of the Symonds Group.

Mr Smith said they now had plenty of time to allay any fears and make next year's concert a big success.