Event Industry News

Diversion needed so main stage can be built

A PARISH council and the Open Spaces Society have objected to the proposed closure of the Thames Path for the Henley Festival.

The festival, which will take place between July 8 and July 12, requires closure of the towpath on the same site as the Henley Royal Regatta.

Two smaller diversions, each lasting two days either side of the festival, are also required to build and remove the main stage.

Kate Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society, said: “The route is a designated National Trail and, being relatively level, attracts large numbers of people from near and far.

“The Henley stretch is the jewel in the crown, yet if people try to walk it during the festival they find they are shoved away from the river on to an inferior route.”

John Halsall, chairman of Remenham parish council, said: “We are concerned about a precedent which could result in the landowners closing the towpath intermittently through the summer and other times from Hambleden lock to Henley Bridge.”

Suzanne Yeates, event manager for the festival, said: “This argument has gone on for years. We don’t get objections from the majority of residents, just two or three individuals.

“The 80m section of the path has to be closed for the stage to be put up and down. That is on health and safety advice. It is a construction site and without the diversion, we can’t put up the stage.

“We understand that no one wants the towpath closed all year round but each event that applies has to be judged on its own merit.”

At a full meeting of Henley Town Council, members raised no objection to the application made by the festival organisers but did express concern about any other extended closures. The council concluded that no events should be excluded automatically but should be judged individually.

An application made annually by the festival to Wokingham District Council has been approved for the last seven years. The authority has not received any complaints in the last four years, other than from Remenham Parish Council and the Open Spaces Society.

The council’s advice note to the town council said: “The temporary closure of the Thames Path will not set a precedent given that, as legislation exists to enable the path to be closed from time to time, it is not unreasonable to presume that from time to time the path will be closed.”