RIOT FEST 2026: what is it with car parks and common sense?
Another year, another council approves a temporary festival in the old industrial estate. ‘Riot Fest 2026’ is set to rock our quiet suburb for three days, and I’m already counting the sleepless nights. Call me old-fashioned, but isn’t it common sense that you don’t put a music festival with 20,000 people next to a retirement village and a petrol station? I saw the planning application – they’ve promised to ‘manage noise levels’ and ‘ensure traffic flow’. Sure, just like they did for the 2024 ‘Summer Rave’ that left glass and vomit on my lawn for a week. Let’s be real: no amount of ‘eco-friendly’ porta-loos fixes the fact that we’ll have drunk kids using my hedge as a urinal. And don’t get me started on the parking. ‘Park and ride’ from a field two miles away? In the rain? With no lights? Common sense says this is a disaster waiting to happen. I’ve already bought earplugs – you should too. #RiotFest2026 #BackyardBlues