Cancelled Chewton Glen concerts by international music stars halves New Milton Town Council's parking profits

A STRING of cancelled concerts by international music stars at the Chewton Glen halved a pay day for New Milton Town Council from car parking.

Three out of five of the planned summer gigs had to be called off, with reasons ranging from injury to Covid.

As reported in the A&T, the council had allowed use of land on Fawcett’s Field, which it owns, for up to 2,000 vehicles to park for each event.

It expected to take in a total of £30,000 in revenue for music lovers parking at the site off the A337 Christchurch Road.

But over the course of several weeks, singer-songwriter Olly Murs was forced to scrap his planned appearance to undergo knee surgery.

Classical duo Michael Ball and Alfie Boe were the next to pull out after the former tested positive for coronavirus.

Finally, eighties icons Tears for Fears had to cry off their appearance after vocalist Curt Smith suffered a fractured rib.

Ultimately the council pocketed only £15,000, with the lion’s share coming from Canadian heartthrob Michael Buble’s appearance and the other £5,000 from Brit band McFly’s gig.

The A&T previously reported how furious Bublé fans hit out at concert organisers, saying it was sold as being in the Chewton Glen’s grounds but ended up as a “festival in a field” on hotel land next to Fawcett's Field.

Responding to dozens of complaints, promoters Senbla Live Events denied miss-selling the concert.

A Chewton Glen spokesperson also claimed the vast majority of the audience had a “truly fabulous evening enjoying a wonderful performance nestled amongst a woodland setting on the Chewton Glen estate”.

They said the location of the concert arena and its format had remained “unchanged” from when tickets first went on sale.