Dorset Police has withdrawn its objection to a summer festival at Wimborne St Giles after ongoing negotiations.
In an email the force say that after ‘a lengthy period of mediation’ agreement has been reached with the organisers of the We Out Here Festival around conditions for the necessary premises licence.
Said Sgt Gareth Gosling from the police licensing team: “The conditions agreed will ensure that the applicant can have a framework within which to promote the licensing objectives to prevent crime and disorder, safeguard children from the harmful effects of alcohol and maintain the safety of the public within the licensed premises.
“On the basis that the applicant is willing to accept these conditions to the Premises Licence in their entirety, Dorset Police no longer have concerns that this Premises Licence will undermine the licensing objectives and our representation is withdrawn.”
But the force said it continues to have concerns about the level of policing required although says that is a separate issue from the application for the premises licence, the hearing for which will still go ahead in Dorchester on Wednesday (22nd March) as there are other representations to be heard.
The conditions laid out by the police include rules around the sale of alcohol; an agreed crowd management plan; a sound management plan; welfare and safeguarding; a medical plan; staff training and a refusals policy as well as a traffic management plan.
Agreement has also been reached over the use of a Drug Amnesty Box with arrangements made for the safe disposal of its contents.
All of the plans will need to be updated 28 days before the August event which has previously been held in Cambridgeshire.
Up to 25,000 people are expected to attend the event over five days.
Dorset Council environmental protection team had asked for extra reassurance about noise control at the St Giles Park site while Dorset Police initially lodged a formal objection on the grounds that the event was likely “undermine the licensing objective to Prevent Crime and Disorder and ensure Public Safety.”
Four residents had raised concerns about the disturbance likely to be caused by the large event and the effect on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, including its Dark Skies status, with four representations, including one from the parish council, in support of the event.
In a covering letter Cheltenham-based event organiser Joe Barnett said: “We Out Here is a four day, family friendly music festival curated by Gilles Peterson of BBC 6 Music.
“Launched in 2019 the event brings the best in the UK jazz scene together with a wide breadth of genres that Gilles has been celebrating over the last 30 years. We celebrate musical legends and emerging talent together and aim to offer our music loving audience a range of other offerings while at the event, from talks and cinema, kids, yoga and wellness activities, clothing, craft and record markets, and even roller skating and open water swimming!
“As organisers we have been running events in the UK and abroad for 20 years and have brought together a team of event professionals with a wealth of experience across large scale event production to deliver this festival.”
The request says the four day event will only have two days with a post-midnight finish, with live music into Saturday and Sunday mornings until 3am.
A schedule submitted to the council shows live music from 2pm on Wednesday August 9th with events continuing until the early hours of Sunday 13th, with most people expected to leave the site on, or before the afternoon of Monday August 14th.