Fears have been raised that a proposed music festival on Bodmin Moor may cause environmental damage.

The Bodmin Moor Commons Council, residents and councillors are opposing plans to stage the event on Blacktor Down Common at Temple.

The profits from the festival are due to be used to convert one of the barns on the site into an education centre and museum for the moors, and to provide small grants to landowners on Bodmin Moor to carry out conservation and restoration.

But members of the community are concerned the moorland environment, the local wildlife and the livestock that graze the area will be detrimentally impacted if the event gets the go-ahead.

The festival is proposed for between September 15 and 17.

One concern is that the moor could turn into a mudbath if there is heavy rainfall.

Resident Thomas Thrussell said: “The new owner that purchased the land in 2021 has written to the residents of Temple requesting feedback for the music festival, which is part of the requirement of gaining an event licence.

“It would be a three-day music festival with live music acts until 1am, camping, toilets, security staff, fencing, parking and buses to bring people from Bodmin, St Austell and Newquay. 

“The land is open access, right-to-roam public access land, common land, in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, in a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) buffer zone and has a large hut circle monument at the centre. 

“The entire area is wild moorland, with mixture of peat marshes, grasslands, streams and ancient monuments. The land is very sensitive and wildlife-rich.

“The Bodmin Moor Commons Council, local councillors and local residents are deeply concerned for the welfare of the fragile moorland environment, wildlife and livestock that graze the common, and local residents are gathering momentum to object to this festival from taking place on such a sensitive rural site. 

“In September we regularly have heavy rain on the moors and the land would easily turn into a mudbath with cars and people churning up the sensitive grasslands which would take months if not years to recover.

“This land is protected by multiple authorities and we hope swift action is taken to make sure the moorland protections are upheld for the wellbeing of nature and farming and destructive activities don’t take place in our wild heartlands.   

“This music festival, if it were to happen, would set a damaging precedent for the moor.”

Shoni Haswell, in a letter to people who live near the proposed music festival site, said: “I hope for it to be a very exciting project which will enable sustainability of our special sites. The festival will be a mixed genre music festival.

“I have applied for a road closure licence for the lane leaving and entering the A30 down to the site, avoiding Temple village. This then prevents any festival traffic going through the village, and keeps the entrance and egress to the village on the main exit closest to the hamlet. 

“I will be using only the pasture fields of the site, and will have fencing up separating the festival site from the marshland and the historic monuments. 

“I will be seeking support from an environmental adviser to ensure habitats aren’t affected, and be mindful of the effects of sound and light pollution, which will be well managed by our qualified engineers. We will be using professional suppliers for all things from fencing provision, to toilets, to traffic management and security. 

“There will be a waste management company picking litter throughout the event, and afterwards, as well as disposal.”