Highways England is assuring road users that it’s doing its best to make journeys as smooth as possible as tens of thousands of music fans head to V Festival in Staffordshire and Essex this weekend (19 to 20 August).

Festival-goers and road users are advised to be prepared and plan ahead as more than 70,000 people make their way to Weston Park in Staffordshire and 100,000 to Hyland Park in Essex, respectively.

David Patmore, Assistant Emergency Planning Officer at Highways England, said:

Months ahead of the festival, we work hard alongside event organisers, the police and other partners, using our expertise in handling traffic to help ensure festival-goers have a trouble-free journey to kick off their weekend of fun.

We strongly advise festival-goers and road users in the area to plan ahead, ensure vehicles have sufficient fuel, and to have plenty of drinks, such as water, available in the vehicle in case of any delays.

Signs will direct festival traffic on different routes depending on which direction it is arriving from.

Traffic is also expected to be busy in the same areas on Monday morning as people head home from the festival.

Weston Park, Staffordshire

David added:

The campsite opens at midday on Friday 18 and closes at midday on Monday 21 August, so we expect the run-up to and from these times to be particularly busy. We also expect traffic to be busier in the area throughout the weekend.

The M5 will be operating a contra-flow system between junctions one and two with 30 mph speed restrictions implemented because of the Oldbury renewal scheme. There may be some issues around junction six of the M6 with the ongoing repair scheme on the A38(m) with local traffic busy around junctions five and seven.

Therefore the M5 will be very busy for those heading to and leaving the event from the south west – so they need to pick their travel time very carefully to avoid delays or perhaps even find an alternative route as far south as Worcester or the M50 to the A49 and head onto the A5.

Those travelling from the south should use junction 10a of the M6 and then to travel onto the M54 towards the venue. Using the M54 to junction three from the south is the best way into the festival and attendees can be off the motorway and parked up in less than 20 minutes. Those travelling from the north should use junction 12 of the M6.

Hyland Park, Essex

Although there are no planned road closures, we expect the A12 near Chelmsford, the M11 junctions seven to nine and M25 junctions 29 to 28 to be much busier than normal.

Highways England provides live traffic information via its website, iPhone app, local radio travel bulletins and electronic road signs. Travel information is also available by phone from the Highways England Customer Contact Centre on 0300 123 5000 and updates will be provided via Twitter @HighwaysEAST and @HighwaysWMIDS.

General enquiries

Members of the public should contact the Highways England customer contact centre on 0300 123 5000.

Media enquiries

Journalists should contact the Highways England press office on 0844 693 1448 and use the menu to speak to the most appropriate press officer.

Eleven of the companies were involved in the acquisition, development and/or operation of The Convent Hotel & Spa in Woodchester, near Stroud, Gloucestershire, that traded as a hotel and music venue.

The two other companies, The Convent in the Hills Limited and The Convent in the Hills 2 Limited raised investments to acquire land and develop a separate project in Norway.

Private individuals entered into investor agreements with at least eight of the companies raising a minimum of £7.8 million. The land and buildings of The Convent Hotel & Spa are currently under the control of LPA receivers who were appointed in respect of a secured charge held by a financial institution.

The companies all traded from The Convent, Convent Lane, Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS.

The role of the provisional liquidator is to protect assets in the possession or under the control of the companies pending the determination of the petitions. The provisional liquidator also has the power to investigate the affairs of the companies insofar as it is necessary to protect assets including any third party, or trust monies, or assets in the possession of, or under the control of the companies.

The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until petitions to wind up the companies are heard in the High Court on 20 September 2017.

Notes to editors

The thirteen companies are:

• BBH Property 1 Limited was incorporated on 11 December 2014, registration number 08675992. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• BBH Property 2 Limited was incorporated on 11 December 2014, registration number 09012571. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Crowdseed3 Limited was incorporated on 15 September 2014, registration number 09217756. The registered office of the company is at 54 Mallorie Park Drive, Ripon, N Yorkshire, HG4 2QF
• Crowdseed4 Limited was incorporated on 30 January 2015, registration number 09415203. The registered office of the company is at 54 Mallorie Park Drive, Ripon, N Yorkshire, HG4 2QF
• HH Property 4 Limited was incorporated on 02 April 2012, registration number 08016267. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Convent (Stroud) Limited was incorporated on 15 September 2015, registration number 09778052. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Roomco Limited was incorporated on 03 September 2014, registration number 09200891. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Convent Live Limited was incorporated on 15 September 2014, registration number 09218722. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Thornley Property (Stroud) Limited was incorporated on 25 April 2014, registration number 09011046. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Netgiglive Limited was incorporated on 20 November 2012, registration number 08300688. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• Music Show Limited was incorporated on 21 November 2016, registration number 10489610. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• The Convent In The Hills Limited was incorporated on 03 June 2014, registration number 09068955. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS
• The Convent In The Hills2 Limited was incorporated on 23 July 2014, registration number 09144068. The registered office of the company is at The Convent, Convent Lane, South Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL5 5HS

The petitions were presented under s124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The Official Receiver was appointed as provisional liquidator of the companies on 10 August 2017 by Mr Justice Roth, a Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court.

Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service, uses powers under the Companies Act 1985 to conduct confidential fact-finding investigations into the activities of live limited companies in the UK on behalf of the Secretary of State for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Further information about live company investigations is available.

The Insolvency Service administers the insolvency regime, investigating all compulsory liquidations and individual insolvencies (bankruptcies) through the Official Receiver to establish why they became insolvent. Further information about the work of the Insolvency Service, and how to complain about financial misconduct, is available.

All public enquiries concerning the affairs of these companies should be made to: The Official Receiver, Public Interest Unit, 4 Abbey Orchard Street, London, SW1P 2HT. Telephone: 0207 637 1110 Email: piu.or@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk.

Media enquiries for this press release – 020 7674 6910 or 020 7596 6187

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