'No exit' policy no longer allowed for Quarry events in Shrewsbury
Events held in a major town park will no longer be able to enforce a no exit policy after an outcry from business owners.
Its comes after Let's Rock Shrewsbury, which was held at the Quarry in July, did not allow re-entry to visitors who wanted to go out into town.
Businesswoman Gwen Burgess, of High Street Evolution and Darwin's cafe, said that instead of boosting trade in the town, the festival actually had a negative effect.
On Wednesday night, Shrewsbury Town Council's recreation and leisure committee voted in favour of changing the way they grant licences to festivals and other events.
In future, organisers must agree to allow visitors to come and go free of charge once a ticket has been purchased.
Town clerk Helen Ball said: "Let's Rock were going to have a no exit rule once you're in the Quarry next year so visitors would have to stay in or re-pay if they want to get back in.
"The council's recreation and leisure committee decided that wasn't on.
"We want to have measures where people can go in and out and they've got to agree to that.
"A lot of the Let's Rock locations are very different to Shrewsbury where there isn't anything else around the area but the Quarry is in the town centre, so there's a lot to offer. So the committee said the organisers have to abide by it."
Miss Burgess said the decision is a win for all town-centre businesses.
"People weren't allowed to leave Let's Rock and yes it was good for hotels, but town was no busier than a normal Saturday, when really it should have been," she said.
"Let's Rock Shrewsbury was a golden opportunity to make town busier and create footfall."
Miss Burgess was invited to Wednesday's meeting where she made the case for the change to the council.
She said: "The council said all events of that type would have to comply with the new rules. They said if the promoters don't want to comply, there are many more queuing up to use the Quarry who would be happy to.
"It's a really positive move for the town. People come from quite far away to these kind of events and if they're allowed to go out and have a mooch around the town, they might decide to come back in six months time for the weekend. So it's a benefit not only on that day but for the future too."
