Photo credit: Graham Wynne December 1, 2016
Police Scotland costs are under scrutiny in Dumfries and Galloway, home to Wickerman, Electric Fields and Eden Festival, after organisers in the region claimed they are charged more than equivalent festivals elsewhere.
Wickerman took an unrelated sabbatical this summer but had to lift its policing budget from 30,000 in 2013 to 80,000 in 2015 to meet Police Scotland charges, on top of paying 136,000 for its own security effort. Switching from one to two days, and significantly expanding its footprint, Electric Fields expected to pay more, but saw its bill go from 1,600 in 2015 to 19,000. Licensed for 8,000 people, Eden Festival is a not-for-profit community event, which earned it a 50 per cent discount, until 2016, when the police cost trebled, which made it quite unviable to host the event , according to Director, Adam Curtis.
There are festivals in Ayrshire with 4,500 on the licence paying zero, Belladrum in the Highlands pays a third of the amount pro rata than the Wickerman is paying, Curtis told the BBC.
Through doing these studies and speaking to other festivals we realised that it s specifically a Dumfries and Galloway policing problem. Police Scotland has denied the charge, according to the BBC, stressing its charging policy is common across the country. Talks between police, organisers and Dumfries and Galloway Council are planned to try and resolve the issue.
There has been a petition set up and shared through The Eden Festival s Facebook page hoping to see a return to a fair and transparent approach to policing, and reinstatement of the 50% discount for not-for-profit events in Dumfries and Galloway that can be found here.
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