Village braced for 'lockdown' ahead of music event

Residents and businesses are braced for disruption as thousands of people head towards their village for a weekend of music.

Live at Powderham will take place at Powderham Castle between 25 and 28 June, with singers Teddy Swims, Alanis Morisette and Lewis Capaldi all set to perform.

Those in the village of Kenton say the volume of traffic caused by the concert will have a huge impact on roads and businesses, leaving some with no choice but to temporarily shut.

Organisers "acknowledge that some businesses have been disrupted" but say they have taken a number of measures to mitigate the transport problems in the area, including extra trains and buses.

Kenton-based hairdresser Karla Newbury said her decision to close for the weekend would cost £1,400 in total.

She said: "It takes hours to get through queues. There's a lot of people coming, they don't want to be sat for hours in traffic - and then they'll be late, and appointment systems don't work when everybody's late."

Across the road from the salon, the Rodean Restaurant has also decided to close for four days, which its owner said would cost the business £6,000.

"I don't think people realise we are locked down in the village, we can't get out and we can't get back in," the restaurant's owner Matthew said.

"I am not against the concert, I think the concert is fantastic, but I just wish the big boys would look after the little boys and sometimes they need to."

Public events have been held so that local people can voice their concerns, while organisers said they have gone to great lengths to try to mitigate the transport problems in the area including an extra 40 trains over the four days.

They have also laid on 125 buses and cars coming onto the site have been limited to 3,000.

Event organiser Oliver Mason said he wanted to work with businesses and residents going forward.

"We do acknowledge that some businesses have been disrupted," Mason said.

"However, working with the local authorities, the council, the police, it's been assessed that overall impact of this event at powder and this weekend is overwhelmingly positive.

"Buses are being provided from Exeter City Centre, Exeter Science Park and the race course."

Organisers are reminding people to plan their journey and not to turn up in a car unless they've booked.

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