Plans for the re-staging of the Lisdoonvarna music festival suffered a major setback yesterday after Clare County Council expressed "serious reservations" about the event going ahead due to its location in an unserviced rural area.
Since plans were announced two months ago for the return of the festival on June 28th after a 20-year gap, the concert has faced widespread opposition in the Doolin area.
IFA president Mr John Dillon has supported the farm group's local branch in opposing the event. Doolin tourism interests and residents have also voiced their opposition to the one-day festival headlined by singer Christy Moore.
Lobbying of politicians by festival opponents this week resulted in Munster Fine Gael MEP Mr John Cushnahan telling the council "that the granting of the licence would be detrimental to the residents of the area". Now, the council has put on hold any move to grant the promoters a licence and have instead told them that it "is concerned about the negative impact the proposal would be likely to have on the residential amenity of property in the vicinity".
In a letter to Aiken Promotions, the council has requested a whole raft of further information with 21 separate items to be addressed before the council will process the application any further.
Some of the information requested include proposals to address the impact noise generated from the concert will have on cattle in the area; an archaeological assessment of the concert site and proposals to address the likely impact on farming activities. The promoters have been also asked to submit their assessment of the likely benefits and negative effects of the proposed concert to the Doolin and Lisdoonvarna areas.
The council has told the promoters that a draft traffic management plan submitted is seriously deficient. The council also points out that the road network servicing the site is substandard. The council has signalled that they intend to restrict the concert to eight hours.
Co-promoter of the event Mr Jim Shannon said the organisers will be making a detailed response to the information sought. "There is nothing there that we cannot deal with," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Doolin Community Partnership yesterday welcomed the council's request for further information.
