ORGANISERS of a music festival have hit back at concerns from local people that it promises "three days of hell".

The Orrible Crow Show, which is behind the Working Classtonbury Festival coming to Powys at the end of the month, said organisers had received no noise complaints from last year's event, and had no issues with Powys County Council.

The Working Classtonbury Festival was held last year in the Nant Glas area, near Rhayader, but this year’s event is at Bwlch Farm, near Howey, from Friday to Sunday, June 30-July 2.

But David Petley, who lives on land adjacent to the farm, said he was worried the festival will be “three days of hell”.

“The Working Classtonbury Festival is being held in a small field in Howey this year as last year’s landowners would not have them back,” said David.

“Local residents are worried about noise and trouble from this event. Powys County Council have issued a temporary licence knowing that an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) brook/stream runs along the site.”

David retired to Radnorshire from Hampshire with his wife four years ago, and is concerned the festival, billed as a small family-friendly event celebrating local artists, has booked some acts with a less than family-friendly flavour.

Acts appearing include Dog Mess, Dog Sh**e, Army of Skankz and 2000 Demented Slagz.

“My house and land overlook the site in question so we would be heavily impacted by the three days of noise,” added David.

“Access to all of our properties and the festival site is via a small, single-track road which fills me with dread, thinking of the potential traffic for the event. The disruption is going to be horrendous.”

Although he admitted lots of what he heard about the festival has been hearsay, David added: “I fear it will be three days of hell.

“I don’t need this. It’s been put on my doorstep and I don’t want it.

“There’s going to be 12 hours of constant music. It’s going to be mayhem.”

In a statement, festival organisers said the Nant Glas event – the second in Powys – ran smoothly.

“We put a festival on last September in Nant Glas. The event ran smoothly with no complaints of noise or nuisance,” said a spokesperson for the Orrible Crow Show.

"The local portaloo company actually praised us on how clean the toilets were kept as we cleaned them every day. We hired 10 portaloos, one being for the disabled. 

“There were no needles left and no human excrement. However, there was cow excrement on the field which is down to the farmer. By law all livestock should have been off the field two weeks prior to an event. We had to get a team to clean the field.

“There were no noise issues whatsoever and no complaints to the council. We had a full temporary event notice (TEN) licence from the council and public liability insurance.

“We do understand people's concerns regarding the SSSI noise and general worry. We have had our sign writer making signs which say ‘No entry SSSI’ which will be placed along the field adjacent and will be controlled by stewards.

“But we have put on numerous small events, over 40 nationwide. The main stage is solar powered and absolutely environmentally friendly, as are the vast majority of people who attend our events.

“We have a designated litter picking crew who are passionate about leaving events clean and tidy afterwards.

“We have limited tickets to 350 and have currently sold 250. We are using local companies where possible and have several local acts.

“We will be bringing in people from outside of the Powys catchment who will be spending money in the area, which I'm sure will benefit local businesses.

“We will be having a meeting with the council this week to give further reassurances, ie risk assessment, management plans and insurance.”

A PCC spokesperson said: “Organisers submitted a temporary event notice (TEN) for a family-friendly music and community arts camping event at the end of March.

“A TEN notice can allow organisers to carry out one or more licensable activities for up to 168 hours and for small-scale events involving no more than 499 people at any one time. If the notice meets the criteria laid down in the Licensing Act, the event will go ahead.

“However, the council started to receive information from members of the public last week regarding the nature of the event.

“It will now chair a meeting of the safety advisory group, which consists of emergency services, highways, trading standards and licensing, along with the organisers to scrutinise their event including their management and safety plans and provide advice and guidance relating to their event.”