Published: Thursday, 8th May, 2008 10:10
Fury over 'Punk Picnic' at camp
By Steve McElroy
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VERGING ON THE RIDICULOUS?: Vehicles parked at the camp during the 'festival'.
A weekend “music festival” at Faslane peace camp has hit a sour note with locals.
The “Punk Picnic” sparked anger among nearby residents who complained about loud music and “illegal” camping and parking.
Now councillors have called for a police report into the event which was said to have attracted 300 people from throughout the UK.
And Provost Billy Petrie, who believes genuine peace campers have deserted the site, says the situation is intolerable and cannot continue.
He told the Advertiser: “People have tolerated it for many, many years when there were genuine peace campers there and they weren’t causing the same noise. The same cannot be said now.”
A Shandon resident complained to members of Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee at its meeting in Geilston Hall, Cardross, on Tuesday. She told members she had come across a flyer about the event, which had been described as a ‘Punk Picnic’, on an Earth First website which, she claimed, made no reference to CND, Trident, Ploughshare or Greenpeace.
She said: “This began on Friday. There was illegal camping and parking on the grass verge of the road which is unacceptable as a camping location.
“One resident had the driveway to her house obscured by a big van which was a safety hazard. The volume of the music was very loud.
“It certainly constituted a disturbance and involved about 200 or so people. The police were unwilling to take action on the campers or the parking and they said that the council had agreed the event and nothing could be done.”
Provost Billy Petrie claimed that the “genuine peace campers” had deserted the site and called for a full report from the police.
Colleague Councillor Danny Kelly said he thought the area was “an absolute disgrace” and “it was unacceptable for the police not to take action.”
Spokeswoman Rachel, who has been attending the camp on and off for two years, said: “The idea was to bring in new people and hold some workshops. Some of those who came were bands and we had a music festival but it stopped at 10.30pm. A lot of people travelled from all over the UK just because it was the holiday weekend. We wrote letters to all the neighbours about it as we didn’t want to upset anyone.
“We had more than 300 people but it wasn’t an organised festival. There were no tickets. It was the first event like this we have held but it was definitely not about the music. We are still against the nuclear weapons at the base and this event was to let people know that we are still here.”
See the full story in this week's Advertiser.
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