Southbound future in Council hands

Southbound's future as a Busselton-hosted event will be decided by Busselton Shire elected members this year who will consider the reaction from nearby residents after the three-day event wrapped up on Monday.

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The music festival’s future in the town is due for renegotiation this year, according to Busselton Shire Council CEO Mike Archer and councillors will be asked to consider whether to support hosting it for future years after a debrief is held between council staff and organisers in the coming weeks.

Sunset Events has held the event at Sir Stewart Bovell Park for the past seven years and Mr Archer, who visited the three-day festival from Saturday to Monday, said he was given positive first impressions of the event

“We thought it was very well organised and run,” he said.

However, Mr Archer said despite residents being encouraged to contact organisers Sunset Events with complaints, the council still received two complaints from nearby residents about noise and antisocial behaviour from the festival.

The CEO said council staff would not want to see the festival moved to another town but a balance between residents concerns and the financial and social benefits of the event needed to be met.

“We need to make sure that it’s relevant in the sense that it doesn’t come at a cost (to the community),” he said.

Southbound organiser David Chitty said Sunset Events had property in other areas it could use if the event was removed but was confident the event was well received in the town.

“We’ll only go there if there’s a reason to go there,” he said.

“It’s close to town and central to Margaret River and Bunbury.”

Mr Chitty said this year was the first in the event’s history he had not received any complaints from residents and tickets continued to sell on a par with last year despite events in other areas suffering decreasing sales.

Security staff evicted 36 festival patrons for climbing the site’s barriers, antisocial behaviour and failing to comply with responsible service of alcohol rules.

Mr Chitty said first aid incidents had halved in 2011 compared to at the event last year.

Busselton Police said a smaller crowd compared to last year resulted in fewer charges and underage drinking was one of the main issues during the festival.

The length and date of next year’s event would be decided based on consultation with festival-goers.