Stories in the Park: Concern over plan to double festival's capacity

Organisers hope to increase its capacity from 4,999 to 9,999

Residents living near a festival site are concerned about a plan to double its capacity.

Organisers of Stories in the Park at Reading's Palmer Park hope to increase its capacity from 4,999 to 9,999 this June.

Previously concerns have been raised about revellers urinating, being loud and smashing glass in nearby streets.

Toby Mullins, chief executive of T&M Leisure which runs the event, has been contacted for comment.

Residents raised concerns about drug and alcohol use in submissions to the council.

One neighbour wrote: "The children's play areas become unsafe to use thanks to the large numbers of drunken young people staggering around the park and surrounding streets.

"Once again my neighbours and I will no doubt find ourselves faced with either the choice of vacating our properties or feeling barricaded in our homes for the duration of the event."

Dance music acts Chase & Status, Andy C and Sub Focus have headlined at the festival in the previous years

Another resident Melissa Marselle commented: "I feel there are too many events in the park as it is and increasing the capacity of the existing ones will just further the noise, disruption and disorderly behaviour that residents experience at these times."

Dance music acts Chase & Status, Andy C and Sub Focus have headlined the festival in the previous years.

T&M Leisure has applied to Reading Borough Council for a licence to host a student boxing event, an orchestra playing Ibiza classics and a boy bands triple bill, as part of the Stories in the Park event.

A total of five objections have been received.

The licence for the event is expected to be decided at a licensing applications sub-committee meeting on Thursday.

If successful it will take place from 13-16 June.

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