John Giddings’ company, Solo, has approached the Isle of Wight council asking that the £55,000 land hire fee that is paid for use of Seaclose Park during Isle of Wight Festival be waived – ie to use the land for free.
Back in 2009 a deal was made under a Delegated Decision (away from the public gaze) to reduce the fee the festival pays to £50,000 a year.
Reduction in fees
Isle of Wight council rejected this, but are now considering dropping the fee by more than three quarters, down to £13,000 for the 2017 Festival.
Solo also asking for this figure to be reviewed after the 2017 event. This wouldn’t apply if ticket sales exceeded 45,000 – but this figure would exclude day tickets.
Conditions of reduction
In exchange for the current fee being reduced by more that three quarters, the Festival would provide the following:
-
(a) West bank of the river – riverside park; typically making the sure the area is used
safely and maintaining public order. -
(b) Halberry Lane Estate and surrounds – mitigating the impact of the event on the
local residents, especially from inappropriate vehicle use in the estate. -
(c) CCTV – on the main roads to/from the site with a feed back into ELT (4 cameras in
previous years) -
(d) Additional public conveniences in East Cowes close to the ferry terminal and
bus/taxi pick up points
Robust market
A report by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) states there was considerable growth in Festivals between 2000 and 2011.
Whilst there has been a levelling off in recent years, the market is still viewed as robust.
Accounts refused
In order to be fully informed, the IWC requested a copy of Solo’s detailed accounts for the festival. Solo advised they are “unwilling to provide this information for reasons of commercial confidentiality”.
Would the Festival really be cancelled?
The papers state that unless Solo can “reduce its costs and or increase ticket sales that the event may be cancelled”.
Council officers believe this would have significant impact on many local businesses and could make the event difficult to re-establish.
Solo have made it clear that unless costs can be reduced the event may not be viable to stage in 2017.
Solo have indicated that they need to resolve all their costs by the end of October 2016 in order to make a decision as to whether the 2017 event will go ahead.
The Reports
Full details can be found in the papers below. Click on the full screen icon to see larger versions.
Article edit
Reference to robust festival market and request for accounts added.
Image: © Isle of Wight Festival
