Kendal Calling

Private and voluntary organisations · Company

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First report 28 Sep 2018•Latest report 28 Sep 2018

Reports, concerns and published responses

Reports over time

Reports naming this recipient by issue year.

* 2026 is projected from reports observed to 7 Sep 2026.

Reports
1

Naming this recipient

Published responses
100%

Found for named reports

Concerns addressed
2

Across all linked responses

Stated actions
1

Described in responses

Concerns and recipient responses

Statements from Kendal Calling linked to the concerns in each report. Select any concern, action or position to view the source wording.

  1. Manchester South

    AI-generated summary

    Donald Berry · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    Donald Berry suffered severe injuries after being electrocuted while working at the Kendal Calling Festival on 22 July 2010, and died from ongoing health complications on 23 August 2016. The inquest heard concerns that a clearly visible high-voltage power line over the site had not been identified or addressed, despite an Event Safety Plan and the licensing process. It also heard that the issue had not been noted by any of the authorities involved and that site-visit arrangements were not replicated nationally.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Kendal Calling; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure of relevant authorities to identify high voltage power lines over event sites

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The inquest heard that the organisers of the event Kendal Calling had not identified that a clearly visible high voltage power line was running over the site and no steps had been taken to minimise the risk although an Event Safety Plan had been submitted to the licensing authority. 2. the inquest heard that the lack of identification of such a significant risk and need to take steps had been missed despite all the steps required by law to licensing such an event had taken place and an indication that the guidance in the Purple Book had been adhered to by the organisers . None of the authorities involved had noted the issue. Eden District Council (EDC)had now taken steps to do site visits for similar events within their area but this was not replicated nationally and was only done within EDC’s area for large events such as this. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Kendal Calling; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of nationally replicated site visits for large events

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The inquest heard that the organisers of the event Kendal Calling had not identified that a clearly visible high voltage power line was running over the site and no steps had been taken to minimise the risk although an Event Safety Plan had been submitted to the licensing authority. 2. the inquest heard that the lack of identification of such a significant risk and need to take steps had been missed despite all the steps required by law to licensing such an event had taken place and an indication that the guidance in the Purple Book had been adhered to by the organisers . None of the authorities involved had noted the issue. Eden District Council (EDC)had now taken steps to do site visits for similar events within their area but this was not replicated nationally and was only done within EDC’s area for large events such as this. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Kendal Calling; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to identify high voltage power lines over event sites

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The inquest heard that the organisers of the event Kendal Calling had not identified that a clearly visible high voltage power line was running over the site and no steps had been taken to minimise the risk although an Event Safety Plan had been submitted to the licensing authority. 2. the inquest heard that the lack of identification of such a significant risk and need to take steps had been missed despite all the steps required by law to licensing such an event had taken place and an indication that the guidance in the Purple Book had been adhered to by the organisers . None of the authorities involved had noted the issue. Eden District Council (EDC)had now taken steps to do site visits for similar events within their area but this was not replicated nationally and was only done within EDC’s area for large events such as this. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below. The report was sent to Kendal Calling; that does not assign responsibility.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Failure to minimise risks from high voltage power lines over event sites

    Wider context from the report

    “1. The inquest heard that the organisers of the event Kendal Calling had not identified that a clearly visible high voltage power line was running over the site and no steps had been taken to minimise the risk although an Event Safety Plan had been submitted to the licensing authority. 2. the inquest heard that the lack of identification of such a significant risk and need to take steps had been missed despite all the steps required by law to licensing such an event had taken place and an indication that the guidance in the Purple Book had been adhered to by the organisers . None of the authorities involved had noted the issue. Eden District Council (EDC)had now taken steps to do site visits for similar events within their area but this was not replicated nationally and was only done within EDC’s area for large events such as this. ”
    Open source report

    Source evidence

    How this respondent action was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the published response wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Appoint Ground Control to undertake all safety and event management activity for Kendal Calling.

    Verbatim wording from the response

    “Ground Control were appointed the season following the incident to undertake all safety and event management activity for Kendal Calling. They are industry leading professionals and have a joined up approach on safety and event production.”

    Source location

    2018-0324-Response-by-Kendal-Calling
    Page 1 · response
    Published 24 February 2019

    Open published response
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Information checked against published PFD reports and official responses · Data reviewed 7 Sep 2026 · About data quality and limitations

Data last updated 7 September 2026