Serious doubt over whether Bath's first reggae festival will go ahead
An environmental official at Bath and North East Somerset Council fears it can't happen safely
Last updated 16th Aug 2021
It's unclear whether Bath's first ever Reggae Festival will be allowed to go ahead, just days before its due to take place.
It's supposed to be happening this Saturday (21/08) on Kensington Meadows but a hearing will go ahead on Thursday (19/08) to decide if it can.
It's all because a senior environmental official at Bath and North East Somerset Council says the organisers VIP Productions haven't planned for it properly.
The environmental health officer at BANES Council has highlighted numerous omissions and contradictions in VIP Productions Ltd’s application.
In a report to the licensing subcommittee, the officer said: “The lack of event planning and management raises a significant risk to public safety and so I am not in a position to support the application.
“The safest way to safeguard public safety is to not allow the event to proceed in the first place.”
VIP ticket holders have paid up to £143 to meet and greet artists on the line-up including Maxi Priest, Aswad, Big Mountain and Wayne Wonder, with standard tickets going for £45.
A spokesperson for VIP Productions said the officer’s objection was lodged before it submitted an amended event management plan, adding: “We are confident that we have satisfied the concerns and this will become apparent at the licensing hearing which is scheduled for August 19.
“VIP Production Limited, the event organisers, have made public safety paramount in their planning of the event.
"The original event management plan was accepted for another event being staged the week before the Bath Reggae Festival by a local authority with no amendments.
“We realise the Bath is a heritage city and the we are proud to have met the exacting standards they expect.
“We can assure the festival goers who are coming to enjoy an afternoon and evening of exceptional reggae music that the event will be perfectly safe.
“We sincerely hope this will be the first Bath Reggae Festival of many and look forward to working with BANES Council now that we have ironed out the initial problems.”
The festival was originally billed for June 5 and was set to run until 3am.
The organisers posted on Facebook on August 9 that gates will open at 11am and the show will finish at 9.30pm.
They asked people to use sustainable transport and avoid driving to Kensington Meadows but follow local parking restrictions if they do.
You can find more information about the festival here.