Thanks to Retired Hack for this latest update in the long-running saga to release the details of last year’s Isle of Wight Festival safety and operational plan. Ed
Council chiefs have been told they must publish details of the planning which went into last summer’s Isle of Wight Festival.
Key parts of the Festival’s Event Safety and Operational Plan, including traffic management arrangements which failed causing huge traffic jams, are set to be made public following months of wrangling which has angered the Information Commissioner’s Office.
Complaint upheld
The ICO, in a stinging rebuke to the Council, has this week upheld a complaint brought in co-operation with OnTheWight. The government agency accused County Hall of failing to supply it with the disputed information for months – and says it then had to prompt officers because
“the Commissioner had cause to query whether he had been provided with all the withheld information.”
It says:
“The Commissioner considers that the delays encountered during his investigation were excessive in the circumstances.”
Rejecting the argument that the ESOP information was too commercially sensitive to be published, the ICO commented acidly:
“The quality of the arguments presented did not reflect the time taken to respond to the Commissioner.”
Traffic chaos
Last June, gridlocked traffic brought chaos to many of the Island’s roads when fields set aside for parking at the Seaclose festival site proved unuseable because of heavy rain.
At one point traffic was backed up solidly from the site to Fishbourne ferry terminal, leaving Wightlink ferries stranded for hours in the Solent, unable to disembark cars.
Not signed off
The ESOP was supposed to be drawn up by Festival organiser Solo, and signed off by the Council, well in advance of the event.
As previously reported, strategic director Stuart Love failed to sign it off, and the information request submitted that same weekend had until now failed to establish whether the ESOP existed at all in the form agreed by the Council.
The Council now has five weeks to publish the details, although it may redact security information and personal data; and it may appeal against the ICO’s decision.
Future chief officer?
Mr Love is seen as the front-runner for appointment to the new post of head of paid service and chief officer, following the departure in March of chief executive Steve Beynon. Arrangements for filling that post resume at the Council’s annual meeting on May 15.
Details coming soon with OnTheWight
The ICO’s full report makes extremely interesting reading, and we will work on bringing readers an electronic version in the coming days.
Update 23:10 Corrected number of weeks until IWC have to response from seven to five.
Image: Paul J Coles under CC BY 2.0
