Boardmasters pledges to be a “better neighbour” following local disputes

The director of Boardmasters, Rob Spring, has pledged to be a "better neighbour" to the festival’s local residents after a series of disputes.

Speaking in an interview with BBC Radio Cornwall, Spring addressed issues that the festival has faced over the past few years and how they’ve attempted to resolve them.

He spoke about a crowd crush that occurred during the festival in 2024, which resulted in seven attendees being hospitalised, explaining that he was "saddened for anyone that was injured".

Though no serious injuries were reported, an investigation was launched into the incident, with Spring reassuring that the recommendations from a report had been implemented.

He said that organisers were praised on the safety of their event the following year, and that "Boardmasters is safe" for festivalgoers.

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He also addressed issues with neighbouring residents, from their 2024 event that brought roads to a “standstill”, to recent concerns over noise levels, which saw residents and local business owners in Cornwall object against the festival’s plans to increase its decibel limit in March.

"In 2024, we brought the roads to a standstill. That is not acceptable,” he said. "We tore up our traffic management plan, brought in locals, and brought in the best specialists that we could find."

He said that Boardmasters wants to "keep on speaking to the local community to see how we can be better neighbours, to see how actually, the local community can benefit."

Last year, Boardmasters was subject to more issues. Several TikTok users claimed they had either been the victim of, or witnessed, spiking incidents at the festival, though the festival insisted that there were no "confirmed" cases of spiking.

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In the same year, the festival risked losing its licence following an appearance from punk-rap act Bob Vylan, whose "controversial" 2025 Glastonbury performance sparked a police investigation after the duo led chants of "death to the IDF".

The Blessed Madonna also pulled out from the 2025 line-up ahead of her performance, claiming that the festival set "restrictions" on political messaging during shows.

Rob Spring said that in spite of improvements made to the festival, which includes more watchtowers and an increase in security, public perception of the festival "remains a challenge".

"The problem we need to solve now to support the community is how do we actually get people to know that Newquay is open when Boardmasters is on," he said.

[Via BBC]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag’s Associate Digital Editor