A music festival in a Perthshire village has been cancelled just hours before it was due to go ahead.
Bosses at the Kirkstyle Inn Dunning said they had been advised to pull the plug on the event following complaints.
And they said continuing with the Kirkstyle Stomp would have jeopardised “the pub, the business and the jobs of all that work here”.
The Kirkstyle Stomp was to have featured folk and traditional music, workshops and family-friendly activities such as face painting and a barbecue.
A camping area had been prepared in a nearby field.
The first events were due to begin on Friday evening following a successful festival last year.
But the Kirkstyle Inn issued a statement late on Thursday night confirming there will be no music indoors or outdoors at the Dunning pub this weekend.
It said: “Due to the amount of pre festival complaints, to us, the Dunning Community Council and Perth and Kinross council, we have been advised not to proceed with the music festival in any shape or form.
“To do so would jeopardise the business, the pub itself and the jobs of all that work here.”
Kirkstyle Stomp attracted international attention to Dunning
Kirkstyle owner Jamie Harrison said he did not want to add to the statement today.
In it, he said Perth and Kinross Council and Police Scotland had been “incredibly supportive and understanding” in their efforts to resolve the complaints.
But the statement said the process had been “exhausting, emotional and very costly for all concerned”.
It went on: “We know folk not only in the village, but to those, literally from other countries had made and paid for accommodation and transport to come and be a part of a family orientated folk and traditional music festival.
To those people that were travelling from afar I apologise profusely. It is not in our hands.”
The Kirkstyle had previously outlined its preparations for the Dunning festival. These included toilets and bins at the campsite and litter pickers on the streets. Staff were to have been posted outside the pub to keep traffic flowing.
The Kirkstyle is a great place, a great asset to Dunning.”
Neil Johnston, chairman of Dunning Community Council.
Outdoor music was due to finish by 9.30pm, after which the sessions would go on inside the pub only to minimise the noise to neighbours.
The Kirkstyle statement said anyone who has been impacted by the cancellation would be invited free of charge to a 2024 event to be held in a location not far from Dunning.
Kirkstyle ‘a great asset’ for Dunning
Neil Johnston, chairman of Dunning Community Council, said there had been no complaint made via his group. Nor had the community council advised the Kirkstyle to cancel.
“It was a surprise last night when we saw Jamie’s post,” he said.
“We were comfortable with the arrangements he was making and were keeping our fingers crossed for an enjoyable event free of incident.”
Mr Johnston said there had been issues in the past about traffic in the area around the pub.
The street outside is very narrow and parked cars can make it difficult to navigate.
However, he said discussions about parking restrictions were taking place.
“The Kirkstyle is a great place, a great asset to Dunning,” he added.
“And the events that Jamie, the landlord, puts on help to ensure we keep a pub in the village.”
A Perth and Kinross Council spokesperson said: “We can confirm that we have investigated complaints regarding the proposed Kirkstyle Stomp festival in Dunning and provided relevant advice. However this did not include advice to cancel.
“We note the organiser’s own decision to cancel the event.”
Conversation