A GROUP who want to turn a former chalk quarry into a ‘permanent festival site’ are forging ahead with their plans.
Free the Spirit say they have been carrying out a consultation with residents in Upper Sundon on the ‘non-commercial’ project at a disused chalk pit near the village.
A new website has been launched to promote the bid, which the group says would see the land brought back into community use.
Groups behind Free the Spirit include Marsh Farm Outreach and Leviticus, formerly known as Exodus.
They want festivals to take place once a month, and say the revenue from 6,000 people paying £10 a head would cover the cost of running the site, which would be made available for use by others when festivals were not taking place.
They say making the area an official festival site – at a cost of £2 million – would combat the problem of illegal raves in Bedfordshire, and of motorcycle riding in the pits.
One of the organisers, Caroline Armitage, said: “We want to bring it back into community use.
“There are two phases – first we would develop the main bowl into a festival and outdoor activity centre, and the second phase would include activities such as assault courses and a motocross track.
“The site has got great potential for use by local people.”
Another Free the Spirit member, Rob Goodwin, said: “The site has been abandoned and left to go to ruin, rubbish and cars are dumped down here and it’s quite dangerous in areas.”
Responses from villagers had been a “mixed bag”, he added.
The surrounding land is home to a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), a fishing lake run by Sundon Angling Club, and an area that could become home to a large rail freight interchange.
Free the Spirit say they have not yet been able to contact the site’s owners, but this would not prevent them from submitting a planning application to Central Bedfordshire Council.
Sundon Parish Council chairman Adrian Terrington said he was completely opposed to the plan because of the “noise and nuisance it would cause for residents”.
“The area should be part of a country park,” he said. “The plans don’t stand up to much and this is totally against the wishes of Upper Sundon and Lower Sundon.
“They have been round door-knocking but most of the residents were hostile.”
Asked what young people in the village thought of the plans, Mr Terrington said: “I don’t know, I can’t speak for the youngsters.”
To view the proposals for the site, go to {http://www.freethespiritfestival.org|www.freethespiritfestival.org|Click here for the Free the Spirit website}