Thursday's
News carried a report on the proposed
Concerts At The Castle (they're apparently still subject to licence by
Fareham Borough Council) which said Portchester residents "fear an invasion of 10,000 denim-clad rockers and pop fans" who could leave the the Castle "in ruins". Obviously they know something about the rowdiness of
Girls Aloud fans that I don't.
It said the residents of
Portchester accused
English Heritage of being money grabbing by organising the two concerts. Apparently 'they' said
English Heritage are putting profit before the future of the site. Next to this point in the article is a box showing the funding that
English Heritage receives from the Government (£125,288,000), it's total funding (£167,808,000) and how much it spent on its properties (£162,646,000).
The article quoted a resident of
Castle Street as saying, "the village is up in arms about it. When 5,000 youngsters who are slightly the worse for drink have got to get out of the [village] through a narrow street, it's going to be chaos".
I can empathise with him to a degree, that's a lot of people for a venue with only one main access road; parking and access are always an issue whenever there's an event at the Castle. However, I doubt whether half the people in attendance for the
Girls Aloud gig will be old enough to drink (if
The News can generalise, so can I) and those there for
Status Quo will probably be old enough to know better.
The possible noise pollution that both gigs may generate is also touched upon, with both the Councillor and the resident expressing fears, the latter stating that it's going to "reverberate for miles". I'm not too sure about that one. I've been to a gig at the Castle before and there were no large piles of
Marshall stacks causing Who-like ear damage. The walls of the Castle are high enough to lessen the sound leakage out of the place.
The News, in their Comment column, suggests "sound screening" be erected, but I doubt that'll be necessary.
All this is a smokescreen though. The article might point a finger at
English Heritage for wanting to make some big bucks, but the comments from both the local resident interviewed (president of
The Portchester Society) and the local councillor (who I voted for) show that there's more to this than meets the eye.
The local resident is quoted as saying "we have the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra play here as well, but that's a very different type of crowd", with the councillor chipping in with "the sort of people who come to these concerts, will they respect the heritage of the castle?".
So it's not the money, it's not the noise, it's not the inconvenience of having the road out of general commission for a couple of days, it's the type of people likely to be there. I find that insulting, especially as I've got a ticket for the
Girls Aloud gig (I can't help it, it's The Tweedy).
Now I don't know whether a park & ride service will be in effect, or what marshalling will be in place to cover the influx of people; the only response from
English Heritage in the article is to say they'd work closely with the Council and local residents to ensure that "any disruption from the events is managed and contained to an acceptable level".
Personally speaking I think the idea of using the Castle in this way is a good one. I'm lucky enough that it's within walking distance from my house and proud that it's there. I like the idea that people will come to see the bands and enjoy the marvellous surroundings of
one of the best (and most complete) examples of Roman castles in Europe.
It would appear that readers of
The News agree with me. The paper carried an internet poll that day asking its readers whether or not the Castle was a suitable venue for pop concerts.
77% of people who responded said yes, it was.
All will be decided on July 27th when
Fareham Borough Council meet to discuss the licence application.
PS A watered-down version of the original article can be read online
here.
