After close to a decade in its current home, it seems that the Melbourne leg of the St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival might be forced to relocate due to ongoing development near the festival site.
When Laneway first appeared on the Aussie music scene back in 2005, it was housed in tiny Caledonian Lane in the Melbourne CBD. Following a series of troubles in 2009, the festival moved its Melbourne location to the inner-west suburb of Footscray, where it has remained ever since. Now, it seems that this might all be about to change again.
As Fairfax reports, an increase in the number of nearby apartments, as well as the $6.7 billion West Gate Tunnel project, means that the once-sparse location is fast becoming a busy urban hub, hardly suitable for a festival like Laneway.
These changes have resulted in a lot of potential problems for organisers, including the fact that the West Gate Tunnel project will result in a new road far too close to the main stage of the festival, and that space restrictions means that Laneway in Melbourne can sell only 15,000 tickets – 5,000 less than other states.
Fairfax also notes that the festival has even looked into plans of relocating to Footscray Park, opposite Flemington Racecourse, where the inaugural Download Festival was held over the weekend.
“The surrounding development places the festival under increasing pressure to ensure impacts on residents and businesses are minimised and a world-class festival for attendees is delivered,” a report from the local council reported.
“Relocation would address impacts from the West Gate Tunnel project on the existing site.”
Despite fears of the impact that the West Gate Tunnel project would have on the festival’s current location, a spokesperson has refuted claims of the new road’s close proximity, stating that the new road will actually be further away from public access than first thought.
“The Laneway Festival is a great asset for the west and we’re happy to work with the organisers to come up with a solution to keep them in their current location,” the spokesperson claimed.
This year’s Laneway Festival included the likes of Father John Misty, Mac DeMarco, BadBadNotGood, Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, ODESZA, and Slowdive, just to name a few.
Check out the highlights of Laneway Festival 2018:
