Wild Life festival defended in latest survey

Some of Shoreham Allstars taking to the stage during the Wild Life Festival SUS-150706-190109001

A sizeable 93 per cent of the 458 residents who took part in a poll on the New Shoreham by Sea Group Facebook page were positive of the inaugural event, held at Shoreham Airport last month.

They felt the recent Shoreham Society study, which saw just under a quarter of 142 residents express concerns about noise, did not represent the wider view of the event.

Adur full council was provided with the latest results last night, along with a supporting statement from Shoreham Allstars founder David O’Connell, who proudly watched the group perform at the festival.

W24C wild life festival in Shoreham on June 6/7

He said: “I felt like I needed to put a positive slant on this.

“All these people, all they can say is good things about Wild Life. What I would like to say on behalf of all these people is ‘thank you Wildlife’ and I hope to see you again next year.”

The Facebook survey invited votes in a range of categories.

Just ten out of the 458 – five per cent – said they did not want the festival to return, with 23 expressing no preference either way.

A total of 61 of those in favour said they would like to see event organisers SJM be granted an extension of its licence to accommodate more people next year.

SJM director Rob Ballantine was also praised by Mr O’Connell for taking the time to watch the Allstars’ performance.

Certificates were presented to each member and should the event get the green light next year, the group will be ‘the first’ invited back.

Mr O’Connell added: “He saw the value in what we do. What these certificates did to the kids was off the scale. Rob didn’t have to do that.

“They are good people. They appreciate the community in Shoreham.”

Shoreham resident of 34 years Richard Black said SJM was ‘passionate about making the festival a success’ and were ‘determined to create as less inconvenience as possible for local residents’.

Speaking last week, Shoreham Society chairman Gerard Rosenberg said the results of their survey were ‘significant’ and added they would be used to lodge an appeal with Adur District Council over future licensing terms between the authority and SJM.