This week's Big Green Gathering cancelled

This week's The Big Green Gathering has been cancelled. Britain's largest green festival was due to happen from Wednesday 29th July until Sunday 2nd August in the Mendip Hills, near Cheddar, Somerset. Ticket holders or those planning on attending the Big Green Gathering are being urged to stay away from the event site.

Following threatened injunction proceedings in the High Court by Mendip District Council who were supported by Avon and Somerset Police, the directors of the Big Green Gathering took extensive legal advice and have been left with no option other than to voluntarily surrender the licence for the Big Green Gathering 2009.

The Big Green Gathering was granted a licence by Mendip District Council on 30th June, 2009 and a multi-agency meeting was held on 23rd July where last minute details for the event were progressed. But following serious concerns from Mendip District Council and emergency services about public safety and possible crime and disorder they applied to the High Court in London for an injunction to stop the event going ahead.

The organisers agreed to pull the plug on it yesterday and the event will now not take place and the directors' advice and request is that no one intending to attend the event should attempt to do so. Ticket holders and those planning on going to the event are being warned not arrive at the site as police step up their operations to divert festival-goers away from the farm.

The Directors of The Big Green Gathering issued the following statement, "It is our intention to avoid any form of confrontation or public disorder in regard to this and it is our earnest hope that all those involved will follow this advice. It is with great sadness that we have been forced into this position and we express our profound apologies to all those concerned."

In the run-up to yesterday's announcement, the council and emergency services had been working in partnership with the organisers to address a number of concerns about the festival.

The main concerns from emergency services and Mendip District Council, which also licenses the Glastonbury Festival, focused on:

• A security company to provide event security.

• Whether proper traffic management and signage can take place before the event starts.

• A road closure order being made in time for the event.

• Whether the South West Ambulance Service will provide emergency help on-site at the event.

• Whether a fire safety consultant, proper Fire Safety Management Strategy, Fire Safety Risk Assessment and the relevant certification about fire safety equipment is in place for the event.

Donna Nolan, who leads the Mendip's legal team, said, "The implications of the issues raised meant that the council and police had significant concerns about the safety of the public attending the event as well as those living, working and visiting the local area.

"Both organisations also believed that there was a potential risk of crime and disorder. In these circumstances the council had to convince the organisers that prompt action was needed. Fortunately the organisers of the Big Green Gathering have recognised this and chosen to cancel the event themselves."

The Big Green Gathering, the UK's longest running green festival, was first held in 1994 played host to all sections of the environmental movement, and last happened in 2007. The event has been pushing a sustainable lifestyle message for decades. This year, Gardeners World, BBC's Ethical Man and many other environmental experts would have been at the Big Green Gathering.

The event, which is the highlight of the annual calendar for thousands of members, activists and supporters of the Green movement, got into financial difficulties in 2007, and festival promoter Stuart Galbraith the managing director of Kilimanjaro joined the board of the Big Green Gathering hoping to make the event a financial and sustainable success, and helped the event to pay off their outstanding debts, and made it a going concern.

A spokesperson for the Directors said, "We have had several meetings with the responsible authorities whereby we believed all the issues had been resolved. This event is a peaceful event with the atmosphere of a village fete and furthermore contributes in the region of two million pounds to the local economy, it is with great regret that this had to happen."

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