Festival camp plan wins backing

A PROPOSAL to transform the Meadows into a huge campsite during Festival season has taken a step forward after the idea was named one of the winners of a contest to improve the city’s festivals.

Council chief executive Sue Bruce was on the panel of judges which backed the idea of the public spot becoming home to a campsite with facilities such as toilets, cooking areas and security guards, it was reported today.

But the proposal has been largely slated by residents, who said the idea was “appalling”.

Chris Wigglesworth, chair of a Meadows working group set up by the council, said: “It would be crazy to even consider having a campsite in the Meadows and there will be a lot of hostility.”

The Edinburgh Festivals Ideas Challenge, which generated more than 300 ideas, was billed as the first initiative to get Festival-goers to help make events “an even more amazing experience.”

The five shortlisted ideas will now be taken forward by Festival bosses for possible development as pilot projects.