KEY DATES
High Lights will be returning in 2026 at Barking Park. Please see dates below.
Build
● Mon 11 th May – Thurs 21 st May (0800 - 2000 - daily)
 
Live Shows #1
● High Lights on Fri 22 nd May (15:30 – 2230)
● High Lights on Sat 23 rd May (1200 - 2230)
● High Lights on Sun 24 th May (1200 - 2200)
No Shows/Site Change Over (minimal work being carried out)
● Tue 26 th May - Fri 29th May (0800 - 2000 - daily)
Live Shows #2
● High Lights on Sat 30 th May (1200 – 2230)
● High Lights on Sun 31 st May (1200 – 2200)
Break
● Mon 1 st June – Sat 6 th June – (0800 - 2000 - daily)

COMMUNITY MEETINGS
We will host a series of community meetings with residents around Barking Park before and after
the event. We aim to liaise with the local community to address your questions and collaborate on
creating a safe and welcoming festival.
The next Community Meeting will take place on Tuesday 28th April, between 18:30 - 200:00 at the
Barking Learning Centre.
If you would like to attend, RSVP by emailing community@percolatemusic.co.uk. We encourage
your attendance where possible! 

2026 CHANGES
Since the 2025 event, we’ve hosted many internal debrief meetings with contractors, local
authorities, and residents. Based on the feedback and suggestions received, we can confirm the
following changes have been made and will be implemented for 2026.
● We have teamed up with We Are OPS, who are very experienced in Community
Engagement for London Festivals. Having a dedicated person who will focus solely on all
the Community Engagement elements of the festival will ensure increased communication
in advance, during, and post-festival.
● Enhance advanced communications with key stakeholders, including local schools,
businesses, and community groups.
● Increase external Security presence during egress.
● Increased MET Police presence in the area during the live events

● Increase the external litter picking personnel.
● There will be a dedicated External Manager whose sole focus is to oversee the external
infrastructure and staffing as per our event planning.
● There will also be a number of toilets between Barking Park and Barking Station. The exact
locations are not yet confirmed and are subject to further consultation with the council.

COMMUNITY £15k DONATION
We originally had plans to host a free community event. After internal discussions, liaising with the
Council, local stakeholders, and residents, we collectively feel that making a park donation of
£15,000 will be better suited for the area. As this donation is for the residents, we allowed
residents to vote on how the donation is spent from the options below.
Option 1:
Outdoor Gym in Barking Park
Option 2:
Split money between Barking Stakeholders and Barking Park Projects.
● Pot 1: £5k donation to Splash Park & Boats to fund free sessions to residents during the
school summer holidays.
● Pot 2: £5k donation to the National Tennis Association to fund free tennis court sessions in
Barking Park and potentially free tennis lessons for residents.
● Pot 3: £1k smaller donations to local schools, local groups and organisations running
services and projects near the park
● Pot 4: Replacement of the Cricket Pitch in Barking Park
Voting is now closed, and results will be shared with residents very soon. Please keep eyes
peeled.
CHARITY / SOCIAL
CDR (Create, Define, Release)
High Lights Festival will continue our partnership with CDR (Create, Define, Release), a
community-first music organisation working towards an equitable music industry for producers and
artists. In 2025, we raised £8,000. With the funds CDR held weekly drop-ins at Heath Park
Community Centre and successfully facilitated a week-long project to Make It Barking. This year's
plans with the donations given to CDR will do the following,
● Summer 2026: Host a one-week summer project with LGBTQIA+ Flipslide Youth Group at
the Vibe Youth Club.
● Fall 2026: Create a two-term programme and collaborate with the Guildhall School of Music
at Eastbury Community School.
More information on CDR can be found on their website
https://www.createdefinerelease.com/about.
Creative Barking and Dagenham Art Grants
In 2025, we paid £3,000 to Creative Barking and Dagenham Art Grants to fund projects in and
around Barking and Dagenham for both young people and aspiring early-career artists during the
2025 High Lights event series in Barking Park. We will do the same for this year's events.

Company Drinks
Company Drinks is a community space and social enterprise located in Barking Park, where they
make drinks. During the 2025 events, Company Drinks made over £1,000 per event.
We will be teaming up with Company Drinks again this year, providing them with a free pitch inside
the festival to promote their work and sell their drinks to our audience.
LOCAL TICKETS
We will offer local tickets at a discount based on proximity to the park.
To apply, please email community@pecolatemusic.co.uk for these. You will need to provide proof
of address and state which event you would like to attend.
Please note: the festival is 18+

ROAD & TRAFFIC INFORMATION
All of our traffic plans have been designed to assist with the smooth and safe ingress and egress
of customers, and to prevent disruption to the surrounding area as much as practicable. We have
increased our external infrastructure and presence in line with our event and feedback from the
local community.
The majority of customers will arrive via public transport, many using Barking Station. The station,
however, will remain accessible for residents.
2026 Updates
To minimise the congregation outside residences on Longbridge Road, the pedestrian crossing
point and temporary traffic lights will be moved approx. 21 metres westbound.
There will no longer be temporary traffic lights outside Barking Station. Instead, a team of Police-
accredited traffic staff (CSAS) and stewards will be used to enable a dynamic approach if changes
are required.
There will be increased infrastructure along Longbridge Road. MET Police barrier will be installed
between the pavement and the road to support staff on the ground with the movement of
attendees and road closures.

Parking Suspensions
Parking will be suspended on the eastbound side of Longbridge Road opposite houses numbers
118-136 between 11:00 - 23:30.
The resident permit parking scheme in place on Longbridge Road will be uplifted to include all
event days of the event to help maintain resident parking on the road. This uplift will run from
17:30 - 23:30.
Signage, barriers and cones may be installed in areas where parking is suspended. Vehicles
parked in the affected locations may be removed. Please refer to the signage that will be placed
locally for details.

Diversion Routes
The image below shows the diversion routes that will be in place during the live events, between
the hours of 11:00 – 00:00.

Road Closures
The following roads will be closed to non-residents during the live events to prevent unauthorised
parking and festival goers' taxi drop off and pick-up.
Cecil Avenue
The section of Cecil Avenue between Cranleigh Gardens/Somerby Road and Longbridge Road
will be closed at peak pedestrian flow times to allow for unimpeded pedestrian flow to and from the
event. Closure equipment will be removed outside of peak times to allow the road network to run
as normal. Residents of that section of Cecil Avenue will be allowed to enter the closure from the
Cranleigh Gardens/Somerby Road crossroads.
Wilmington Gardens
The section of Wilmington Gardens between Rosslyn Road and Longbridge Road will be closed
during the event days, between 11:00 - 00:00, to protect residents from Taxi traffic.

Hurstbourne Gardens
The section of Hurstbourne Gardens between Levett Road and Longbridge Road will be closed
during the event egress, between 20:00 - 00:00. A diversion route will be signposted via Hulse
Avenue/Shirley Gardens and Levett Road to ensure access is maintained.
Relevant traffic infrastructure will be installed during the periods the roads are closed. Closure
equipment will be removed outside of peak times to allow normal running.
Traffic marshals will be stationed at the entry points to authorise access to residents living within
the road closures. You may be asked to provide either this letter or proof of address to gain
access.

 

WASTE MANAGEMENT
High Lights Festival will work with a Waste Management Company to clean the site during the
event’s build, live and break phase.
● Recycling bins and waste sorting will be undertaken during the event.
● During the live events, there will be two litter picker teams: internal and external.
● There will be an increase in the number of litter pickers for the 2026 events.
● The external team will be responsible for walking routes from transport hubs (stations, bus
stops, taxi pick-up and drop-off points) to the festival.
● Each live event will have overnight litter pickers for both internal and external to the festival.
● Stakeholders and residents may use the hotline during the live event if they notice any
waste build-up caused by our audience.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Should you wish to contact us regarding the above (or any other matter), please do so via email
community@percolatemusic.co.uk
If you have any accessibility requirements or questions, please contact
access@percolatemusic.co.uk.
Emails will be monitored several times a week, but please note that there may be delays in
response times.
We will have a community hotline live throughout the build/show/break, so if you have any
concerns regarding noise, litter, parking, or any anti-social behaviour.
The number to call is 020 3278 0077 and will be open between the following hours;
Build:
Mon 11th - Thurs 21st May: 09:00 - 18:00
Live:
Fri 22nd May: 14:30 - 23:30
Sat 23rd May: 11:00 - 23:30
Sun 24th May: 11:00 - 23:00
Dark/Change Over:
Mon 25th - Fri 29th May: 09:00 - 18:00
Live:
Sat 30th May: 11:00 - 23:30
Sun 31st May: 11:00 - 23:00
Break:
Mon 1st - Sat 6th June: 09:00 - 18:00
Should you call outside working hours or when an event is not taking place, we endeavour to
respond promptly. On show days, the hotline will be operational 1 hour before opening and 1 hour
after. We want to ensure the event has minimal community impact, so please use the contact
details to report any issues as soon as possible so we can try to resolve them.