Glastonbury "concert" licence approved
Two-day concert at Glastonbury Festival site can go ahead - after councillors take nearly a week to decide
Last updated 19th May 2021
A two-day concert at the Glastonbury Festival site will be able to go ahead – after councillors took nearly a week to make up their minds.
Glastonbury Festival Events Ltd. (GFEL) applied to hold a two-day event at the Worthy Farm site, with live music spanning September 17 and 18.
Mendip District Council’s licensing sub-committee debated the proposals on Wednesday (May 12), but failed to come to a decision after nearly seven hours, forcing further days of discussion in confidential session.
The council has now finally agreed that the concert can go ahead, despite protests from local residents over noise levels and crowd safety.
The concert will be held over two days, with live music being performed on the Pyramid Stage for up to 50,000 people (ticket-holders and staff) and no overnight camping being permitted on-site.
Alcohol will be served from 2pm on both days, with recorded music being permitted from 2pm onwards and live music from 4pm to 11pm.
Caroline Griffiths, who lives in Pilton, told the sub-committee on May 12 that she and other residents “haven’t had any meaningful contact” with GFEL, arguing they had not been properly consulted – something which GFEL has strongly denied.
She added: “There is an element of fear and futility in the community.
“Suppose my daughter gets married and has her wedding reception on the day this happens. The noise would destroy her special day.”
Resident Nick Hall raised concerns about crowd size, giving that only seven per cent of the normal festival site would be used for the event.
He said: “GFEL’s application is rushed and its approach complacent and arrogant. They do not know whether they are proposing a Pilton event or a light festival.”
A spokesman for GFEL responded that its application was “entirely proper and comprehensive” and said it had been operating with “shortened time-lines” of consultation in light of the government’s roadmap out of the pandemic being announced in late-February.
The spokesman added: “This application is made to safeguard the significance of the festival and to ameliorate the cultural and commercial loss arising from its cancellation this year and last year.
“The event is proposed for September 17 and 18 on a single stage. It will be a completely different event to the festival.”
The council finally reached its decision on Tuesday evening (May 18), publishing a full list of updated conditions on its website to take account of locals’ concerns.
Councillor Sam Phripp, who chaired the licensing sub-committee, said: “Whenever a licence application is considered, we rightly assess the impact of an event on local people and seek to find a decent balance.
“With regard to GEFL holding a concert in September, we’ve heard concerns from residents, and those concerns are reflected in more than 50 conditions that have been added to this licence. We believe they’re sensible measures, and match the perceived risk of the event.
“With a view to covid-19, of course, any event would have to be covid-safe, and we will work with other organisations and the organisers to make sure that’s the case.
“It’s in everybody’s interest for events like these to be a success, but as chairman of licensing I’m clear that we’ll keep our ears and eyes open and take on board feedback from residents in Pilton, just as we would with any other event.
“We hope that, covid-depending, this event will be a success, and we look forward to welcoming music lovers back to our corner of Somerset this autumn.”