THE promoter of a 24-hour music festival planned for Godmanchester in mid-July has another two weeks to appeal against Huntingdonshire District Council’s refusal of a licence for the event.

Ben Worsam, of Cambridge Street, Godmanchester, had applied for a licence for the event in a field off Berry Lane on July 14 and 15 for an audience of up to 500 people to listen to live and recorded music between 11am on the Saturday and 6pm on the Sunday.

But last Wednesday councillors at HDC’s licensing sub-committee turned down the plan because they considered the site at West Meadow unsuitable for the event. They were concerned about possible public nuisance, particularly noise levels so close to people’s homes, and were worried about security and the lack of risk assessments for safety concerns.

Having heard from Mr Worsam and from HDC’s environmental health officers, who had objected on noise grounds, the sub-committee also expressed its concerns about the proposed event’s potential for violent disorder and that minimal measures were in place to control the number of people entering the site, which would have been restricted to 499, including the organisers.

Mr Worsam told The Hunts Post two weeks ago that the festival was planned as a party to celebrate The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the forthcoming Olympics. He planned to give part of the proceeds to the Baptist Church next to his family barbecue business.

He was not available for comment yesterday (Tuesday), but he now has the right to appeal the decision to Huntingdonshire Magistrates.