A NEW music festival is being planned for Eastwood.

The two-day folk festival called “Day of the Dead”, named after the famous Mexican holiday, will take place in a field next to Flemings Farm Road over the bank holiday weekend in August.

The event, to cater for about 1,000 revellers, is being billed as a “family friendly’ weekend.

Paul West of 21st Century Licensing, the group representing the organisers, said: “It will be a family occasion and an all age’s folk festival.

“Not a drunk and debauchery event that some people think and certainly not a case of banging out loud and excessive noise.”

“Of course we’ve had letters of objection, but we’ve also had a number of people supporting the idea. The community in general will benefit from this, but unfortunately there are a few people who are trying to spoil it.”

The site of the proposed festival falls just inside the boundary of Rochford District Council, meaning it has no duty to inform residents on the Southend side of the boundary.

Andrew Moring, the Southend councillor for Eastwood Park, found out about the proposal through a sign on a lamp post. He said: “I have now conducted a letter drop to 66 residents close to the area to make them aware and put a letter up on the notice board in the local Morrisons.”

According to Mr Moring, last year’s event caused a lot of traffic problems in the area.

Rochford District Council were unable to comment on the application which will be discussed this Friday.