Festival organisers seek views on new plans for two-day Dream Valley music event to be held at Great Lines Heritage Park, Gillingham
08:54, 25 January 2024
updated: 12:57, 25 January 2024
Festival organisers are inviting residents and businesses to have their say on plans for a new-look event after last year’s plans went amiss.
Dream Valley, a two-day multi-stage dance music festival, is set to take place at the Great Lines Heritage Park in Gillingham this summer.
It comes after a four-day event of the same name, which was due to take place in the same location across the May Bank Holiday Weekend last year, was pulled and taken to Essex instead.
The organisers had started selling tickets for those events – the largest of which was due to host 25,000 people. Another was due to be headlined by Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins.
But Medway Council's licensing hearing panel turned it down after deciding it had too many concerns around public safety and the "nuisance" the events could cause residents if allowed to go ahead.
However, DV Master Ltd, which is behind the new two-day event to be held in August, says it wants to “engage with locals to ensure the event runs smoothly” and ensure there is “minimal impact on the community”.
It added in a letter to residents and business owners: “This is the beginning of our communications with yourselves and please be rest assured that more updates will be shared as the event dates get closer.”
The live event days are proposed for Saturday August 24, and Sunday August 25, taking place between midday and 11pm.
If given the go-ahead work to build the multi-stage event will start on site from Friday, August 9 with plans to vacate the park by Friday, August 30.
The event will be ticketed with a fenced perimeter.
In April last year, Dream Valley said the shows wouldn’t be going ahead due to “rail works” at the same time – something which led to Southeastern hitting back at them for “misleading” customers.
Would-be festival-goers then hit out at the organisers after weeks of refund delays after the show was moved 27 miles away to Upminster in Essex.
A drop-in meeting with the organisers over plans for the new event this Summer will take place today (Thursday, January 25) between 10am and 4.30am in Gillingham Library.
If you are unable to attend an online meeting will be held on Monday, January 29 from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.
Residents who want to join the online meeting or have queries before the meetings should email residents@dreamvalley.uk to be sent the meeting link.
Dream Valley is described as as event which fuses the “world's greatest dance music with immersive experiences”.
The organisers say it is their intention to host another meeting two months prior to the event, to share updated event plans and answer any more questions.