Organisers of Hampshire’s Boomtown music festival are forging ahead with plans to expand the festival – but not everyone is happy there will be 11,000 extra revellers.

Objectors have hit out at the plans for the five-day festival, based on the Matterley Estate in South Downs National Park, but there are more people in support.

Festival-goers and residents have praised the event for helping the local economy and it being an “absolutely wonderful” festival.

However, issues raised by objectors included concerns over public safety, the death of a young male festival-goer last year, noise, light pollution, traffic, noise from helicopters, public urination, the impact of drugs and habitat impact. 

The Boomtown website said it wanted to increase its attendees from 65,999 in 2024 to 76,999 in 2025, without an adverse effect on the countryside, and submitted a planning application to the South Downs National Park Authority.

“We’re planning for Boomtown to grow back out of Downtown and return to the surrounding hills, providing more space for you all to decompress and enjoy all our festival has to offer,”  the website said.

Applicants Boomtown Festival UK Ltd and Matterley Farming applied to hold one music festival event a year between May 1 and October 15 for five years. Planning permission to hold the festival on the 423.12-acre site at Matterley Bowl, Matterley Farm, Ovington, Alresford Road expired last year and needs renewing.

The application is asking for built wooden structures to be retained within the woodland area and for additional access points on A31, A272 and Rodfield Lane to cope with the expanding size of the event.

The planning statement said that building and dismantling the festival would not take more than nine weeks. 

The national park authority said because of the potential significant impact of the festival on the park, it would handle the planning application, not Winchester City Council.

In support, Itchen Valley Parish Council said Boomtown should not aim to merely aspire to, but actually achieve, the highest environmental standards in the management and protection of the land upon which the festival is held.

Resident Chris Robinson objected to increasing the event in size by a third, and said that sites outside the national park should be considered.

Nicolas Hall raised concerns like others over noise, loss of habitat, urination not being controlled into the Itchen River and added his concern over potential helicopter noise and asked for a midnight curfew such as the one at Glastonbury.

Ward councillor Neil Bolton (Con, Upper Meon Valley) said: “I am personally more concerned about the unnecessary death of another young life than the noise that temporarily may disturb my sleep or the rightly mitigated, temporary impact on the local environment.”

While there is no objection from Hampshire Highways, the Environment Agency said it wanted more information about plans for foul water drainage arrangements as the site is above a drinking water aquifer. 

Natural England did not object as long as appropriate mitigation is put in place to avoid any damage or destruction of the features for which Cheesefoot Head, a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) is known.

It said: “A lack of objection does not mean that there are no significant environmental impacts. Natural England advises that all environmental impacts and opportunities are fully considered and relevant local bodies are consulted.”

In her letter of support, Louise Arnold said it is an “absolutely wonderful festival” bringing people together in the local area.

Bramdean resident and festivalgoer Venetia Baring said she was impressed by the swiftness of Boomtown’s clean-up operation and the efforts it makes to reduce noise.

Hampshire farmer Edward Tyrwhitt-Drake said: “It is a fantastic event that really does not impact the local area apart from in a positive way. It brings people to local pubs, businesses, towns/villages bringing money and support to small businesses at a tough time.”

Boomtown was granted its alcohol and music licence by Winchester City Council licensing committee on January 30. It upheld the premises licence for alcohol and music for the Boomtown event that will run from August 6 to 10, if planning is granted.

The review of the five-day festival’s license was triggered by Hampshire Constabulary applying to look at the running of the event after the death of a 22-year-old man last year.

At the licensing committee hearing there were 17 objections. One objector Terence Jones said the event takes five weeks to build, one week to run and three weeks to take down by a purpose-built construction village of 2,000 workers. He said 200 to 250 hectares of the 444-hectare site used for camping and car parks are mowed and that takes away habitats from ground-nesting birds.

Artists who have played at previous festivals include Madness, Damian Marley, Wu-Tang Clan, The Prodigy and Sister Sledge.

Acts lined up for the 2025 event include The Sex Pistols featuring Frank Carter, Sean Paul and Maribou State.

The SDNPA will decide on application reference SDNP/24/05303/FUL in the coming months.