Glastonbury Festival LICENCE GRANTED!

Another marathon session at Mendip District Council for the Public Entertainments Licence for Glastonbury Festival - this one was seven hours.

Different to previous hearings, this concentrated much less on the general application detail - which after all was the same as the previous application (that was heard on 12th December). This concentrated on the important issue of crime and the security of residents in Pilton and the surrounding villages, and the extra measures the Festival would now be taking to tackle those problems.

When Melvin Benn presented the case for the Festival, he worked through the "pop code" - the industry best-practice manual for festivals, to ensure that any application satisfies the legal requirements.

He explained how the application met or bettered what was required in the relevant chapters (there's 33 of them!) ... and then he explained that this application had a whole new section - never before submitted for a Public Entertainments Licence - detailing the security measures that would be in place outside the Festival grounds.

The time taken on detailing all of this was very worthwhile, as it showed how keen the organisers are to work with not only the council and police to put on a safe Festival, but also with the locals to minimise the disruption to their lives.

And this disruption has already started: it was stated that there had been cases of intimidation, which included the spraying of graffiti on houses and elsewhere, to those both for and against the Festival. Some of those who planned to attend the meeting felt unable to leave their homes as a result.

In the December hearing, the Police contribution had been short and sweet - saying little more than "no objections". More time was spent tonight, detailing concerns to show just how seriously the policing had been considered. A report was also given on police activities around the 2002 festival, which helped show that the problems encountered in 2002 are being addressed in 2003.

For the first time at a PEL hearing, the leader of the council - Stephen Harrison - spoke from the sides (he's not a member of the Regulatory Board). He recognised the genuine fears of the minority (he stressed "an important minority"), but also pointed out the massive enjoyment of a much larger number. Bearing in mind the fact that the council's own regulatory officers were not objecting to the licence, and the willingness shown by the Festival organisers to work with all concerned to address problem areas, he was mildly supportive of the application.

When the public were given a chance to speak, those objecting presented a much more sensible viewpoint than they did in December. They concentrated on how they were victims of crime, or victims of the fear of crime unable to leave their house while the Festival was on. Hopefully the extra police, extra security and CCTV coverage in the villages will allay those fears during this year's Festival, and their concerns will be less next year.

These objections were balanced by support from a similar number of others, some of whom were new(ish) to the village, some having lived there all their lives.

In the end - as ever - it comes down to the vote of the Regulatory Board. With 14 of the 15 members present tonight (there were only 9 present in December) the hopes were for a different result. The vote on whether to grant the licence was carried 10-4 in favour - PHEW! There was then a vote on whether the licence would allow for the numbers applied for, or whether the licence should be granted for a reduced number, and that was carried 8-6.

There are to be 112,500 weekend tickets on general sale, with 34,000 for staff, performers, etc, and 3,500 Sunday only tickets for sale to locals.

Glastonbury Festival 2003 takes place on 27th-29th June.
Can't wait!!

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