Local police move to block Splendour’s site expansion plans

Organisers of Splendour In The Grass have hit a roadblock of sorts, with Tweed Byron Local Area Command opposing plans regarding permanent residency, expansion and approval for 50,000 patrons per day at the current North Byron Parkland’s location.

Inspector Brendan Cullen said of the plans to expand further, “[Last year’s] event was sold out with capacity of 32,500 paying patrons per day, of which we have been informed there were 20,100 campers. The site also houses a significant workforce of approximately 3,500 and an undisclosed number of free ticket holders at any one time.”

He cites concerns regarding the “consumption of illicit drugs”, with risks amplified due to “crowd numbers, lighting and site layout.”

Perhaps most ridiculously, the report is quoting as stating the terrorist threat level for such an expanded event was “probable”, even speculating that in the event of a diarrhea breakout (yup) the site would not be able to be adequately evacuated within eight hours.

Echo Net Daily spoke to Splendour co-producer Jessica Ducrou, who confirmed the festival actually paid for police staff to patrol the event, which “helps ensure that normal policing services to the community can also be maintained.”

‘Splendour in the Grass operates on a police user-pay system”, she explains. “This essential service helps us meet the needs of our patrons while still fulfilling our responsibilities to the broader community. We understand that as the event grows, so does the requirement for police presence and user-pay services. Splendour is 100 per cent committed to patron safety and will continue to make adjustments to this service based on the number of patrons in attendance.”

Further plans and documents can be read at the department’s website, while Echo Net Daily delve into the dispute here.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.