Too many people at T in the Park, too few roads just as locals warned

HIGH above mounds of litter and putrid human waste, looking down on a divided community, soar two sleek birds of prey. The ospreys of Strathallan Castle Estate held centre stage in the run up to the T in the Park music festival.

For months, ensuring the birds’ protected feathers remained unruffled by thumping music and thousands of fans was the main hurdle organisers faced before the inaugural show at the new venue could go ahead.

Today, however, the ospreys barely register on the long list of woes which could, if not bring down the curtain on T in the Park, then certainly put its music on pause.

For it seems it wasn’t just the

protected birds that were in jeopardy from the arrival of the festival at Strathallan. It was the ticket buying public as well.

By the time the first bands took to the stage last weekend it was clear that warnings from worried locals that narrow roads and the compact site could never cope with 85,000 music fans, were chillingly accurate.

Angry festival-goers have since told how they feared for their lives as the site’s entrance gates bulged under the pressure of hundreds of bodies.

Others have spoken of the chaos that ensued 11 hours later forcing people to queue for up to six hours just so they could head home.

Mum of two Caroline Greene from Madderty, close to Strathallan Estate, was among those who told them so.

She takes no satisfaction from having witnessed a weekend of mayhem which she likens to something from a war zone.

“I love music and music festivals,” she stresses. “But I was always uneasy about it being in this space. I didn’t think it was safe.

“What concerned me last weekend was how close it came to people dying.

“I was scared,” she adds. “I knew it would be bad, but actually seeing it and no one doing anything about it was shocking.”

She saw people so desperate to get out of the festival site after hours of being penned in, that they charged through security fences.

Hundreds many under the influence of drink or drugs staggered along dark country roads, some into the path of oncoming vehicles.

Not that the buses and cars were travelling fast. Many were jammed in an eight-mile traffic snarl up that left festival goers stranded without food, water, shelter or a place to rest.

With no toilet facilities, farmers’ fields and grass verges became lavatories.

In the pitch dark, revellers stumbled down embankments and collapsed in roadside ditches.

One man was knocked down by a bus in the chaos.

And residents ended up locked in their homes unable to negotiate clogged roads or too scared to leave.

Local Councillor Tom Graysaid: “Public safety was compromised. There was a threat to safety. There was chaos. Roads were blocked, people weren’t finding what they were looking for and walking on the road.

“Stewarding was poor, too. All of that must be addressed.”

Cllr Gray, who is convener of Perth and Kinross Council’s development management committee, has warned that promoters DF Concerts must “pull their socks up” or risk having their entertainment licence request rejected next year.

It sounds like he means business.

But many who signed more than 1,600 letters of objection calling on the council to reject T in the Park’s plans for last weekend’s event among them mum-of-one Zazie Mackintosh of Muthill are now asking why on earth it was allowed to go ahead in the first place.

“It’s not a case of ‘we told you so’,” she insists. “When I heard about that boy being hit in the road it made me angry. We’d been saying these roads are not fit for this purpose for months. We knew this was going to happen.

“We feel DF Concerts didn’t listen, the council rolled over and let this happen.

“They were very lucky someone wasn’t killed.”

Cllr Gray says: “This was an event the organisers wanted to go ahead, people were looking forward to it, there was a short time to make arrangements.

“DF Concerts insisted they could make it happen.”

The go ahead was given in mid-May after weeks of wrangling and debate much focused on the well-being of those Strathallan ospreys.

“It was very tight in terms of getting work done,” says one insider. “We had to rebuild roads and the layout was altered, all that takes time but we couldn’t get it started.”

That doesn’t cut much sway with those who argue that the site was chosen years ago.

“DF Concerts should have had all the plans up and ready,” insists Mrs Mackintosh. “Instead I think it was all done on a wing and prayer.”

Meanwhile as the clean-up at Strathallan continues amid calls from local MSP Liz Smith for a major review, horror stories of the weekend clog social media.

While festival goers reflect on their experiences, locals are still feeling their impact a stink hangs over the area while some claim they are too scared to drink tap water.

And recently came confirmation that one opponent of the festival, Mark Liddiard, whose home was marooned in the middle of the site, has been charged over an alleged fracas with workmen.

Campaign group STAG, the Strathallan T Action Group, say they are pleased an inquiry is being held.

The part-owners of the Strathallan estate last night claimed they’d had “really positive feedback” about the festival.

Jamie and Debs Roberts said: “It was our first year hosting the event and it was difficult to know exactly what to expect.

“Overall, we were really pleased with the atmosphere.

“We obviously recognise there were issues externally but we are confident that DFC will work with other agencies to fix these problems.”

For his part, Geoff Ellis, boss of DFC, has pledged to work hard to ensure TiTP’s problems are solved.

“We genuinely apologise for the issues with traffic,” he says. “We’ve resolved to fix those for next year and beyond.

“We are 100% confident Strathallan is the right site for the next chapter of the festival.”