NEIGHBOURS opposed to a dance music festival being staged near Thornbury have described it as “a form of torture”.
Police and environmental health officers have objected to a licensing application for the Goa Cream Festival on Yew Tree Farm in Old Gloucester Road, north of the town.
It has been held there for the past two years but sparked complaints from residents, with the nearest homes less than 200 metres away.
A near neighbour said a previous staging of the festival “ruined our lives for three days”.
A temporary event notice has been submitted to run the festival from Friday to Sunday, September 12 to 14, from 4pm-1am on the Friday, 10am-1am on the Saturday and 10am-10pm on the Sunday.
Alcohol would be on sale throughout the opening times.
In his submission to South Gloucestershire Council licensing sub-committee, which will decide to approve or block the festival next Tuesday, Avon & Somerset Police licensing officer Wes Hussey said a neighbour complained to officers last year because the extremely loud music had a “profound effect” on his family and children.
Mr Hussey said: “The police have concerns that if loud dance or trance-type music, which produces loud background bass and thudding sounds, is permitted from 10am until 1am then this is likely to have an adverse negative effect on residents that live locally.
“It is unfair and unreasonable to expect those residents to have to endure that disruption for the entire weekend and could possibly lead to confrontation from upset residents.
“The police also have concerns around the length of time that alcohol is being made available on the Saturday, giving 15 hours of unrestricted access and consumption.
“The police believe that this could result in intoxication and drunkenness which could lead to disorder, assaults, theft, and antisocial behaviour.
“This is a semi-rural area, which would make any police response to disorder or assaults difficult to get to in a reasonable time.
“The police request that the application is not granted, as the event has potential to cause distress and disruption to nearby local residents and does not promote the licensing objectives, it would also be difficult to respond to any police-related issues or medical emergencies, and that this site is not suitable to host such an event as this.”
‘Intrusive, offensive event’
Mr Hussey included the resident’s complaint, which said: “We had three days of heavy bass music thudding through our house.
“We had 15 hours on Friday, 15 hours on Saturday and 12 hours on Sunday.
“It was almost inhumane and a form of torture.
“I am quite a mellow person and generally believe that we should all jog along together, however I have never felt so angry and also helpless at the same time.
“I returned to work on Monday, totally exhausted by the whole thing.”
The resident said his three-year-old son was close to tears because the music scared him and that the family could not open the windows despite the hot weather.
He said: “We were almost at breaking point.
“This has without doubt affected our mental health.
“It is an intrusive, offensive event that has ruined our lives for three days.”
‘Significant harm’
The council’s environmental health team wrote in their submission to the sub-committee: “We have significant concerns regarding the potential environmental and community impact of the event particularly in relation to noise nuisance.”
They said despite working with organisers to address noise levels ahead of the 2024 festival, they did not have sufficient evidence that these were adequately monitored or that agreed limits were followed.
The team said: “The impact of the repetitive nature of the music, combined with the duration, caused significant distress to the local community.
“We are concerned that the organisers have not effectively addressed these issues and lack the necessary controls to prevent a recurrence.
“We therefore do not have confidence in their ability to manage the event in a way that will not cause significant harm to the well-being of the local residents.
“For these reasons we believe that allowing this event to proceed would cause an unacceptable level of disturbance to the local community.
“We are therefore objecting to this event.”
By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service