Report >> 3. Event Licence Application
In trying to understand exactly what happened, why it happened and who was responsible on the day of the concert the committee felt it was important to understand the Event Licence application process including the various meetings that took place with the appropriate statutory bodies.
The initial application for an Event Licence for the concert at Castletown House was made on behalf of MCD by Michael Slattery & Associates to Kildare County Council on 23rd March 2007. This application for a projected audience of 25,000 included a Draft Event Management Plan and Site Plans.
On the 25th May Kildare County Council requested further information outlined in 16 points. These points were:
1. Submission of a revised site layout plan at a scale of 1:500 outlining
a. All existing buildings and structures
b. All proposed structures
c. All roads/access ways; emergency routes etc
d. All entrance points to the site
e. All significant tree stands and hedgerows
f. All features and structures in the vicinity of the subject site
g. Each parking area clearly indicating access/egress points and number of vehicles its was proposed to park there
h. Bus parking areas
i. Disabled parking
j. Etc.
2. Submission of a comprehensive traffic management plan to include
a. Estimated length of queuing on Hewlett Packard slip road and how it is proposed to avoid queuing back to roundabout
b. Proposals to prevent any traffic backlog onto the M4
c. Full details on off-site and on-site signage including specification, location and size of signs, all directional signs to be AA signage only
d. Parking requirements and parking capacity on site
e. Whether parking will be controlled by stewards
f. Area of general parking
g. Parking requirements for organisers/facility providers
h. Number of VIPs and capacity of VIP parking
i. Adequate car parking identification, coloue coding/numbering system
j. Details, if any, of provision for wheelchair users
k. Detail of surfacing between general car park and seating area
l. Detail of surfacing between VIP car park and seating area
m. Proposal for managing vehicles who wish to exit the site while vehicles are entering the site
n. Role of public transport
o. Drop off areas/proposals
p. Proposals for vehicular access to the site for drivers who are not permitted on motorways, e.g. provisional drivers
q. Measures to restrict and prevent traffic parking outside the venue
3. Detailed proposals for pedestrian access to the site. Proposal must provide for safe pedestrian access to the site from Celbridge town
4. Detailed proposal to ensure that the venue will be disabled user friendly
5. Adequate parking capacity to cater for the event. Also demonstrate the suitability of the parking areas.
6. Indicate any alterations within the site to facilitate the event including specific details, time scale and reinstatement of lands post the event etc.
7. Submit documentary evidence that the applicant has all the necessary consents to use the emergency route indicated and carry out all necessary alterations to same
8. Submit a revised drawing of the subject site and clearly indicate the various property owners and the lands under their control
9. Proposals to remove all litter/abandoned cars etc. from the site
10. Submit documentary evidence that the applicant can ensure the concert site remains an aircraft/helicopter exclusion zone for the entire event
11. Submit detailed proposals to adequately cater for the proximity of the River Liffey to the venue which will provide safety to persons within the venue and which will prevent persons from trying to gain entry to the venue via crossing the River Liffey.
12. Detailed proposals to protect all existing trees/hedgerows and associated root systems
13. Detailed proposals to adequately protect Castletown House and all associated structures from any damage resulting from the event.
14. Specify the specific dates of all concerts proposed under the application.
15. Proposals for community gain resulting from the subject event
16. Comment on the issues raised to an objection received by Kildare County Council and submit proposals to address the issued raised
On the 30th May, MCD met with Kildare County Council and the Garda Síochána at which details in the Council’s request for further information was discussed. A week later, on the 7th June a meeting with MCD, Kildare County Council and Garda Síochána was held at the Castletown House site to further review the issues raised by Kildare County Council but particularly the entrances to car parks, the condition of the fields available for car parking and the access routes into the concert site from the roadway.
The following day, 8th June the response to Kildare County Council’s request for further information of the 25th May was submitted including a comprehensive on-site traffic management plan dealing with car parking on site and traffic flows into the car parks off the Hewlett Packard slip road. This traffic management plan also included off-site and on-site directional traffic signage.
MCD’s proposals for on-site traffic management including carparking were reviewed in the meetings with the Garda Síochána and Kildare County Council and were documented in detail in the revised submission.
To address concerns of access to the site via the one entrance, proposals for widening of the entrance and surfacing of the road so that two lanes of traffic could be taken onto the site were discussed and agreed.
The committee noted that the Promoters undertook the following works in consultation with the Gardaí and Kildare County Council:
- Advance directional traffic signage on the M4 and on the interchange;
- Media publicity re the approach / entry routes to the site and the bus route to the site.
With regards to car parking the Committee also noted in the submission made on the 8th June that there was a large margin available between available car parking (total area of 112 acres) and expected demand and that this provided insurance against the risk of some of the fields becoming unusable due to adverse weather.
This margin between capacity and demand provided sufficient insurance against some of the car parking in three areas (1, 2 & 4) which were in stubble being unavailable in the event of adverse weather. The other car parking areas (3 & 5) which were both in grass comprised 55 acres which was sufficient to comfortably accommodate 7,000 cars.
On Wednesday, 4th July the Event Licence for the Barbra Streisand concert at Castletown House was granted for a capacity of 25,000.
On Tuesday 10th July, a pre-event meeting with MCD and the Statutory Authorites (Kildare County Council, Garda Síochána, Kildare Fire Services and the HSE Ambulances Service) took place at the site to review the requirements of the Event Licence and also to review the car parking arrangements as following persistent heavy rainfall three of the five cars parks were deemed unusable and had to be closed. While capacity in the remaining two carparks was not an issue, ground condtions remained a concern, the meeting discussed the possibility of developing a ‘Park & Ride’ option to the site however it did not proceed as it would have been impractical, e.g access, drop of points, availability of transport etc.
Following this meeting the finalised Event Management Plan was submitted on Thursday, 12th July to Kildare County Council and the relevant Statutory Bodies taking on board the issues and matters agreed at the pre-event meeting and confirming a projected attendance of 17,000.
The following day, Friday 13th, a further meeting took place on-site with all the Statutory Agencies and MCD to review arrangements and in particular the deteriorating condition of the two remaining car parks. The option of using the nearby Hewlett Packard car parks as a contingency was again explored but it was not possible to secure their availability.
On Saturday morning at 11.00am a meeting to review final arrangements took place with MCD and all the statutory bodies. The main area of consideration and discussion was car parking.
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