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Festival Republic has applied for a premises licence to stage a three-day music event in Luton, UK this spring.
Luton Borough Council’s licensing panel is due to consider the application today (22 January), with the event pencilled in for the Bedfordshire town’s Stockwood Park across the spring bank holiday.
The promoter is seeking permission to stage the festival between noon and 11.30pm Friday 24 May and 9.30am to 10.30pm on 25-26 May. The licence would allow entertainment including live music, recorded music, dance performances and films, in addition to the sale of alcohol.
Luton Today reports that a representation has been made by a local resident expressing concerns about the suitability of the site, which last hosted concerts by Bad Manners and Levellers in 2010.
“As this is the first large scale event to be held at Stockwood Park, there could be people turning up with the intention of listening to the music, but outside of the event area,” it reads.
The publication notes that a noise hotline would be available during the event, while Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn would consult the local community ahead of the event.
Bristol City Council has approved FKP Scorpio UK’s bid to stage a series of outdoor concerts in the city centre despite local opposition
Also in the UK, Tower Hamlets Council has backed a decision to allow medium and large events at London’s Victoria Park – home of AEG-promoted concert series All Points East – to increase in capacity from 500 to 5,000 and 5,000 to 20,000, respectively. Major events will remain at 50,000-cap, but will rise in frequency from 10 to 12 per year.
According to the BBC, Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman says the council had “no choice” but to hire out the park as another way of making money. The authority is hoping to generate £1.58 million (€1.85m) a year from the increased capacities as it seeks to tackle debt in excess of £68m.
However, some residents have slammed the mayor’s proposal as “a terrible idea that would ruin our park”, and are demanding the council carry out a consultation.
Elsewhere, FKP Scorpio UK’s bid to stage a series of outdoor concerts in Bristol has been approved by the city council despite local opposition. The company will present three 15,000-cap live music events in Queen Square from 9-11 August.
The concerts will be the biggest to take place in Queen Square, which hosts the main stage of Bristol Harbour Festival but is near a growing residential area, since Glastonbury’s Arcadia brought its fire-breathing spider to the square in 2015. Massive Attack also performed at the site in 2003.
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