Plans to host a “no rules” music festival with up to 10,000 attendees in Oaklands Junction have been shut down by Hume council.
The council unanimously refused to grant a permit for the event after the proposal was met with concerns from Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, Melbourne Airport and nearby residents.
Event organiser Wonderland Touring Pty Ltd had planned that the 7000-10,000 attendees would be transported from Melbourne to the “unknown location” – land at Wildwood Winery on St John’s Road in Oaklands Junction – by up to 200 buses.
St John’s Road is a one-lane road with no street lighting that comes to a dead end.
The event was planned for December 2, from 3pm-1am, and would sell alcohol and permit smoking – on grassland – during fire season.
St John’s Road resident of 30 years Kevin O’Sullivan spoke against the event at Hume’s council meeting last week.
“Be of no doubt that of the 16 residents who live in that road, we are all against the proposal,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
Concerns discussed at the meeting included the well-being of the more than 100 horses living on properties in the street, security, safety and gatecrashing.
Prior to the council meeting, emergency services had expressed concern for the volume of traffic on St John’s Road, the site’s accessibility and the risk of grassfire.
Councillors were also concerned that more than 4000 tickets had been sold for the event before the permit went before the council.
The event’s advertising stated that patrons could “forget noise complaints, silence the neighbours, lynch the lockouts.” It told attendees: “There are no rules anymore.”
