Plan to keep Festival fans moving

Leeds Festival bosses , the police and the Highways Agency have designed a masterplan to stop road queues marring the build-up to this weekend’s music extravaganza.

Seventy thousands music fans started pitching up at Bramham Park from yesterday afternoon.

The increased traffic caused by the arrival of out-of-town revellers has in some previous years led to delays on key routes around Leeds. More recently, however, a revised road management scheme has helped keep the city on the move during the mass influx of fans.

Key elements of this year’s scheme include:

• Directing festival traffic from junction 45 of the A1(M) to Bramham Park via local access roads such as Paradise Way;

• Operating an extra route to the site from junction 44 of the A1(M) via the A64 westbound on Thursday, likely to be the busiest day for festival traffic;

• Shutting the A64 eastbound to through traffic near the Fox and Grapes pub from midnight on Wednesday to 5am on Friday. Non festival-goers have been warned that the Grange Moor and Wattle Syke roundabouts between Collingham and Boston Spa are likely to be busier than normal from Wednesday to Friday afternoon.

Standard ticket holders, meanwhile, can start setting up their tents from 3am on Thursday.

The festival proper gets under way on Friday and runs through to Sunday night. The headline acts are Biffy Clyro, Green Day and Eminem.