Scotland's biggest music festival is on the move for the second time.

After 18 years at Balado in Kinross, T in the Park is expected to move 18 miles to Strathallan Castle estate in Perthshire.

A deal has been struck to shift the festival in 2015 following health and safety concerns about an underground oil pipeline at the current site.

Geoff Ellis, CEO of DF Concerts, said: "We’re absolutely thrilled to announce Strathallan Castle as our new home. We’ve had 18 tremendous years at Balado but now we’re moving onto pastures new – this time with a castle overlooking the site!

"We already loved Strathallan Castle and had been hoping to host an event there for many years. When it became clear we’d need to leave Balado to safeguard the future of the festival, we became very excited about the prospect of Strathallan becoming the new home for T in the Park. We thought it would be perfect and it is.

"Like Balado, it’s right in the heart of Scotland and is easy to locate. The landscape is stunning and it has a fantastic natural amphitheatre which will lend itself beautifully for the main stage. It will truly be one of the most beautiful festival sites in the UK.

"Obviously we’re sad to leave Kinross. We’ll miss the local area hugely, we’ve built up some fantastic relationships and a great deal of fond memories there. However, we’re very excited about this new chapter of T in the Park’s journey and we look forward to beginning strong partnerships with the local community of Strathallan.

"More news about 2015 will be revealed soon, but before then, we look forward to welcoming everyone this July for the very last party in Kinross. We’ll make sure Balado gets the spectacular send-off it deserves."

Strathallan Castle is three miles from Auchterarder, to the south west of Perth. The castle and estate have been owned by the Roberts family since 1910.

T in the Park has attracted many of the biggest names in music since it began 20 years ago. The event was originally held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, but moved to the disused Balado airfield in Kinross-shire in 1997.

Around 85,000 revellers are expected to watch performances by Arctic Monkeys, Calvin Harris and Biffy Clyro at this year's show from July 11 to 13.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has raised persistent objections to Balado's proximity to the BP Forties pipeline running from the North Sea to a processing plant near Grangemouth.

The body agreed not to refer their objections to Scottish ministers this year, provided T in the Park moved away from the site from 2015.

A spokesman said earlier this year: '''HSE has consistently advised Perth & Kinross Council against granting planning permission because in our view the public safety risks it presents mean the site is not suitable for an event of this scale and nature.

''With large numbers of people in close proximity to a major hazard pipeline, our view is that the proposed development raises safety issues of substantial concern."