The long-term home of the annual Falls Festival in Victoria is currently unknown, with organisers announcing their withdrawal from talks which could have moved the event to Murroon. This uncertainty is the reason behind the festival’s unexpected move to the Melbourne CBD in the coming weeks.
“A small group of objectors opposed the planning permit approval for Falls Birregurra in Murroon, Victoria and applied to the Victorian Civil Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to put a halt to it,” explained Falls Producer and Secret Sounds Co CEO, Jessica Ducrou. “Unfortunately, following initial compulsory mediation, the parties could not achieve a resolution and a hearing was set for late February early March next year.
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – ‘Heads Will Roll’ (Live At Falls Festival 2009)
“Given the time and expense, we have decided to withdraw from the approval process,” Ducrou added. “The festival industry is recovering from the pandemic and a long, expensive process pursuing this application is something we’ll need to reassess in the new year.”
Falls Festival was originally launched in 1993 as Rock Above The Falls in Lorne, Victoria. Since its inception the festival has moved a handful of times, with events held in Torquay in 1999, Geelong in 2015, and now Melbourne CBD in 2022/23.
Upon announcing the move to Melbourne earlier this year, organisers explained that planning permits had originally been approved for its upcoming event to take place in Birregurra. However, an application by a small group of locals was made to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) appealing this decision, resulting in the move to the CBD.
“It has taken two-years of consultation and planning permit approval processes to get to this point and despite support from the local community and Colac Otway Council, the process has been stalled by the objectors through VCAT,” Ducrou continued. “We thank all the community and stakeholders who have supported the Falls Festival to date.”
“We know from numerous economic impact studies of these events in the past that (events like Falls) provide the area with tens of millions of dollars in economic stimulus and short-term employment for locals over the period of the festival.”
Falls Festival Victoria will launch its 2022/23 edition at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Thursday, December 29th, and will run until Saturday, December 31st. Further events will take place in Byron Bay and Fremantle Park in the following days.
Further Reading
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