Saltworks Farm is currently owned by Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWaC). Any decision relating to the hiring of the land for a licensed event rests entirely with the CWaC licensing officer. In coming to a decision the licensing officer will take account of the views of the Safety Advisory Group.
Frodsham Town Council (FTC) are not members of the Safety Advisory Group
Frodsham Summer Festival (FSF) have requested use of the old Ship Street play area as a temporary car park. The initial request was refused. At that time FTC had been led to believe that only the football festival was being held at the venue and FSF agreed there was sufficient land at Saltworks (12 acres) to fully accommodate the parking. After being informed that the music event would also be held at Saltworks, FTC agreed to consider the request again at the Council Meeting on 24th April.
As FSF have now announced their decision to call off the music event Sergeant Ian Wilson of Cheshire Police has provided the following statement :
“During the Safety Advisory Group meeting on Monday 10th April 2017 the Frodsham Salt Works event was discussed.
The view of the group is that a comprehensive event plan is required to provide a formal response.
The key issues at the time of the meeting were that the land owners have not granted consent for the use of the land and it was felt that with the loss of the parking area from 2016 that the event has not provided adequate parking for the people attending.
It should be noted that the proposed field that was discussed (off Ship Street) was not felt to be suitable for cars and was unlikely to be used.
The event plan needs to include the proposed parking plan and a full site layout plan for the event as well as all the delivery elements of the event to fully understand how the site is to be used.
In addition the group wanted to understand the contingency plan in the event of wet weather as the land owner (CW&C Parks Dept) was not informed of the changes from last year. This related to the fair being set up on the tarmac carpark due to wet weather.
The group also asked for clarity around the Temporary Event Notice covering 499 people, the event plan should also identify what methods are in place to manage these numbers particularly in relation to the regulated entertainment.
The group also asked that the plan should include other significant elements to the event which could include fun fairs, stalls, exhibitions, and camping, either audience or staff, as this had not been fully presented in past plans.
The Safety Advisory Group requested a full event plan by 28th April, with a view to a formal response is provided in relation to the use of the land by the 5 May.
Prior to providing the details requested Mr Rowlands send a plan shows the event is much reduced and is now a football tournament with a bar and BBQ for the people attending. There will be no live music. All car parking will be on the tarmac car park on the Saltworks site.”