Inland Port Festival Parking - Correction to false information

We have been made aware that Shardlow & Great Wilne Parish Council are being blamed for the traffic chaos which ensued following the removal of the traffic management plan for the Inland Port Festival and would like to reiterate that this is not the case.

First and foremost, the Parish Council were unaware of the intended road closures until the installation of the signage approximately a week before the festival when phone calls and emails from disgruntled residents and business owners who had not been consulted with were directed to the Parish Clerk.

This led to an email being sent to SDDC to request a copy of the closure order. At no point did the Parish Council ask for removal of the order, nor was there any statement in support of the order. In short, the Parish Council were content the order was applied for legitimately and the onus was on the applicant (as confirmed by SDDC Head of Cultural & Community Services, Environment & Communities) to consult with residents and businesses – which evidently did not happen.

The order was granted on 18th July 2024 following an application believed to be from Amber Event Traffic Management Ltd. South Derbyshire District Council has sent an apology to the Parish Council as an administrative error meant the sealed order was not posted to the Parish Council Office. In addition to this, South Derbyshire District Council has confirmed that the order was revoked by the traffic management company who were employed by the organisers of the festival.

We hope this addresses any concerns and would ask that any further complaints regarding the festival and/or the traffic management are directed to the festival organiser and copied to South Derbyshire District Council (chairsoffice@southderbyshire.gov.uk).