Citing drugs, noise and other issues.

North London residents are attempting to shut down this year’s Wireless Festival due to safety complaints. The charity The Friends of Finsbury Park (FoFP) have drafted a letter sharing a legion of issues that they take with what happens at the festival, primarily noise and the use and sale of drugs at the park. They also believe they have not been given sufficient information about how Live Nation and the event planners will deal with any issues:

We believe that the information supplied on the event application is wholly inadequate and does not allow us to make an informed and meaningful response. Our request to see crucial information such as a Risk Assessment, Noise Management Plan, Green policy, Event Management Plan and a site map of the event has been refused, and detail about the vaunted community event is non-existent…There were major security failings at last year’s event with break-ins and attempted break-ins along the perimeter fencing which resulted in large and intimidating crowds of people disrupting public order in areas of the park outside the event itself, which Live Nation were unable to control…The noise from Wireless Festival is unacceptable. It was particularly bad during sound tests and often caused buildings to vibrate… The presence of large numbers of people abusing drugs and alcohol also present an added risk of harm to children. As mentioned, children and their parents have to run the gauntlet of open drug dealing and are frequently intimidated by anti social behaviour.

Read the entire letter in full here.

Wireless Festival is still set to be held at Finsbury Park July 8-11 and will be headlined by Boy Better Know, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status and J. Cole. Other performers include Miguel, Vince Staples and the 1975.

[via NME]