PAPER F
Purpose: For Decision

Committee

EXECUTIVE

Date

13 OCTOBER 2016

Title

REVIEW OF THE TERMS OF THE LAND HIRE
AGREEMENT FOR THE USE OF SEACLOSE PARK
BY SOLO PROMOTERS LIMITED FOR THE STAGING
OF THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL

Report to

EXECUTIVE MEMBER FOR PUBLIC TRANSPORT,
TOURISM, RECREATION AND HERITAGE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1. The council has received a request from Solo Promoters Limited (“Solo”) to vary the
terms of its current ten year agreement to use Seaclose Park for the staging of the
annual Isle of Wight Festival.
2. Over recent years there has been a significant increase in major festivals being staged
across the country which has started to impact on the viability of both new and
established events with some being cancelled. Others have been scaled back and
most are reporting significantly reduced ticket sales as the choice and range of venues
and events has increased.
3. In order to commit to the continued delivery of the Isle of Wight Festival, Solo has
requested that its land hire fee for the use of Seaclose Park is waived.
4. The council recognises the wider economic benefit that the Isle of Wight Festival has
bought to the local economy since it was re-established in 2002, which in 2009 was
estimated at more than £10 million per year. The report sets out in Appendix A
revised terms that could be offered to Solo which minimises the financial impact on the
council by ensuring Solo takes responsibility for certain aspects of the delivery of the
event which are currently undertaken by the authority.
BACKGROUND
5. The Island is recognised worldwide as a major festival venue based on the iconic Isle
of Wight Festival of 1970 where it is estimated more than 500,000 people attended at
Afton near Freshwater. In 2002 the Isle of Wight Festival returned with an event
organised and funded by the Isle of Wight Council at Seaclose Park, and it has been
delivered over the last 14 years by Solo.

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 6. Solo’s current land hire agreement for Seaclose Park expires in 2019. The agreement
sets out the terms by which Solo operates the site including times of closure, security
of the park, closure of footpaths and responsibility to repair any damage created by the
event. In addition Solo also has a separate licence agreement for the event to cover
issues such as the capacity of the site for ticket sales, alcohol, traffic management and
other related matters. Some of these costs are recoverable by the council under the
Isle of Wight Act which gives the council certain controls on events that exceed 5,000
attendees.
7. Although the Festival was originally confined to Seaclose Park, over time, Solo has
invested in land acquisitions to the north and west of Fairlee Road for both camping
and car parking and the site now covers and area stretching from the park all the way
to Whippingham/racecourse roundabout This includes significant areas of hard
surfaced track way in the main car parks following the 2012 Isle of Wight Festival,
where heavy and prolonged rain prior to the event made car parks inaccessible and
created traffic gridlock across the local road network.
8. The Isle of Wight Festival is considered to have had a major economic benefit to the
Island. In 2008 a study was undertaken on behalf of the council which estimated the
annual value of the event to the local economy at £10 million. Solo has also estimated
it spends in excess of £1.3million with local Island based suppliers. In a recent survey
by Festival 250, which ranks festivals around the world, Isle of Wight Festival is ranked
11 based on a range of indicators including ticket sales and sponsorship.
9. A report by the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) http://aiforg.com/wpcontent/uploads/AIF-Six-Year-Report-2014.pdf indicates the considerable growth in
Festivals between 2000 and 2011 and while there has been a levelling off in recent
years the market is still viewed as robust. The report highlights the many factors that
could impact on the success of the festival market generally as well as individual
events including the effect of the economic downturn from 2008. The austerity
measures put in place across the public sector has for example resulted in significantly
increased policing costs at festivals as the police seek to coup the reduction in their
budgets. As well as factors such as weather and headline acts the report also
highlights the impact of cancelled festivals on matters such as consumer confidence
and the effect on ticket sales as well as the positive impact of “Glastonbury effect”
which is seen by many promoters as a huge market and public awareness opportunity
given the saturation media coverage that takes place.
10. The festival location adjoining Newport town centre is seen as beneficial to local
traders, although there have been recent concerns that more festival goers are
remaining on site due to the increased range of attractions.
11. While Solo is responsible for all issues associated with the delivery of the festival
within or in the immediate vicinity of the Seaclose site, there are off site matters that
the Isle of Wight Council has managed to ensure that the wider community of the
Island is not unduly impacted by the event. These include:
•
•
•

management of traffic in the Halberry Lane area;
management of west bank of the river Medina and the estuary;
additional toilet facilities in East Cowes;
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 •
•
•

CCTV cameras on the main road network pressure points (including
Racecourse roundabout and Fishbourne Lane);
contingency car parking plans in the event of extreme weather;
use of the Newport Harbour area.

STRATEGIC CONTEXT
12. The council’s Corporate Plan 2015-2017 four key objectives are:
• supporting growth in the economy, making the Island a better place and keeping it
safe;
• keeping children safe and improving their education;
• protecting the most vulnerable with health and social care, investing in support,
prevention and continuing care;
• ensuring that all resources available are used in the most effective way in achieving
the Island’s priorities.
13. The Isle of Wight Festival is considered to have a positive impact on supporting the
growth of the island’s economy.
CONSULTATION
14. There is no requirement to consult on the proposal to vary the terms of this licence for
the use of the land at Seaclose Park. The decision is a property matter which rests
with the Executive.
FINANCIAL / BUDGET IMPLICATIONS
15. The council currently receives £55,000 per annum from Solo for the use of Seaclose
Park and also holds a bond of £26,000 for the replacement or repair of any damage to
the park during the event. The council currently spends an equivalent sum on the
activities highlighted in paragraph 11 above. This does not include officer time.
CARBON EMISSIONS
16. There are no carbon emissions issues as a result of the recommendations of this
report.
LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
17. Section 2 of the Local Government Act 2000 provides the council with the power to do
anything which it considers will improve the overall economic, social and
environmental well-being of the area provided that such actions are consistent with the
Community Strategy. It is felt that the Isle of Wight Festival helps improve the
economic well-being of the Island.
EQUALITY AND DIVERSITY
18. The council as a public body, is required to meet its statutory obligations under the
Equality Act 2010 to have due regard to eliminate unlawful discrimination, promote
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 equal opportunities between people from different groups and foster good relations
between people from different backgrounds. The protected characteristics are: age,
disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and
maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.
19. The Isle of Wight Festival is considered to improve the overall economic well-being of
the Island. It is not targeted to any group of people in particular and therefore none of
the identified groups will be adversely affected by it staging.
OPTIONS
20. The options available to the council are as follows:
Option A – not to review the terms of the current licence with Solo for the use of
Seaclose Park for the staging of the IW Festival 2017
Option B – to agree to revise the terms of the current licence with Solo for the use
Seaclose Park as set out in Appendix A for the staging of the Isle of Wight
Festival 2017
RISK MANAGEMENT
21. If the council decides not to vary or waive the annual payment for the use of Seaclose
Park there is a risk that Solo may decide it is unable to stage the Isle of Wight Festival
in 2017. If the event is cancelled then the council will not receive the land hire fee
anyway although the agreement does allow the council to seek another provider.
Given the timescales involved and the earlier references to the viability of major
festival there is a high risk that the council would not be able to secure another
promoter. In addition, another provider would need to secure its own licence for an
event and for an event of any scale, would need to negotiate access to adjacent land
in Solo’s ownership or control.
22. The loss of income from the land hire agreement would place additional resource
pressures on the council as these funds are used to provide a range of services and
functions associated with the event. This includes management of the river Medina
and the area known as the west bank, parking in the residential streets around
Halberry Lane and CCTV cameras and monitoring of the road network leading to the
venue. This risk is mitigated by proposing that Solo take over responsibilities currently
managed and paid for by the Isle of Wight Council. This could be more cost effective
for Solo to manage as part of the arrangements with its onsite contractors, which
includes highways, parking and security staff. Solo has confirmed that they are
looking to negotiate with all of their suppliers and therefore the decision to stage the
event will also be depended on the decisions of others.
EVALUATION
23. The council has made clear in its Corporate Plan 2015-17 that the economy is a main
priority and it has been previously evidenced that the Isle of Wight Festival has had a
significant impact both in promoting the Island as a visitor destination and offering
business opportunities to local companies
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 24. While at this stage it cannot be confirmed that the varying or waiving of the council’s
land hire fee would ensure the staging of the festival in 2017 there is a real risk that
unless Solo can reduce its costs and or increase ticket sales that the event may be
cancelled. This would have significant impact on many local businesses and could
make the event difficult to re-establish.
25. It would be unreasonable to assume that the reduction in the land hire charge is the
sole determinant as to whether the festival is staged but Solo has made it clear that
unless costs can be reduced the event may not be viable to stage in 2017. Solo have
indicated that they need to resolve all their costs by the end of October 2016 in order
to make a decision as to whether the 2017 event will go ahead.
26. The revised terms of the land agreement offered and set out in Appendix A are
considered to demonstrate the council’s commitment to supporting the event and
recognise its long term value to the Island’s economy. The overall loss of income to
the council has been largely offset by placing those functions with Solo, the event
organiser, while ensuing general over sight of the arrangement ensures it delivers on
these terms, which will be reviewed for 2018.
27. The council has asked Solo to provide its detailed accounts for the event in order that
a more informed decision around the land hire agreement could be made however,
they have are unwilling to provide this information for reasons of commercial
confidentiality. The promoter John Giddings has indicated a willingness to attend the
Committee to answer questions around the delivery of the festival at some point in the
future.

RECOMMENDATION
Option B To agree to revise the terms of the current licence with Solo for the use of
Seaclose Park as set out in Appendix A for the staging of the Isle of Wight
Festival 2017.

APPENDICIES
Appendix A –- Proposed revisions to the land hire agreement between IWC and Solo for
delivery of the IW Festival 2017

Contact Point: Ashley Curzon, Head of Economic Development
 821000 x6210 e-mail ashley.curzon@iow.gov.uk
ASHLEY CURZON
Head of Economic Development

COUNCILLOR SHIRLEY SMART
Executive Member for Public Transport,
Tourism, Recreation and Heritage

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