Perth Council Hit Out At Skirting Big Day Out Organisers

Following Big Day Out 2014 co-headliner Blur unceremoniously announcing the cancellation of their appearance at the festival, and leaving promoters with their “pants down,” Perth’s Claremont Council have opted to rub salt in the wound of the iconic event’s organisers.

Keeping with their rather contentious attitude towards music festivals — having previously tussled with Soundwave organisers and hit-out at Stereosonic punters — the council for Perth’s Claremont Showgrounds are looking to block BDO’s application to extend their curfew to 11:00pm.

Big Day Out 2014’s scheduled conclusion at the Claremont Showgrounds on Sunday, 2nd February 2014 is reportedly still subject to council approval and The Music Network reports that members of the local council are furious over the promoters’ outflanking of them, in applying for an extension.

Eschewing the involvement of the Claremont Council, the promoters of BDO 2014 applied for a one-hour extension directly to the Department of Environment Regulation, which has rubbed some councillors, like Claremont CEO Stephen Goode, the wrong way.

Speaking to local paper the Cambridge Post, Mr Goode labeled an 11:00pm finish “totally unreasonable” due to increased noise, and expressed anger over the Department permitting Big Day Out to handle complaints from local residents, instead of Claremont Council.

According to the Department, it is standard practice for concert promoters to handle complaints, but Mr Goode told the Cambridge Post that council wanted to act as middle-man, “because they get complaints ranging from noise to antisocial hooliganism, to traffic and parking.”

“I have to say this is another very unsatisfactory reflection on the Department and displays either contempt for Claremont residents or a lack of professional consideration of what actually happens at these events,” said Mr Goode, requesting “some consideration from the department.”

Tone Deaf reports that Claremont Mayor Jock Barker previously expressed his own contempt for music festivals, telling Big Day Out they were “not welcome” in the area and in January saying, “We don’t want the Big Day Out or Soundwave back in Claremont at all…they contribute nothing.”

Stay tuned to Music Feeds and we’ll keep you up-to-date with this story as it unfolds. In the meantime, the organisers of Laneway Festival 2014 are also experiencing ‘council issues‘, with an attempt to expand their Sydney leg currently under siege by Leichhardt Council.

(Via Tone Deaf)

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