A CONTENTIOUS cider and music festival shelved by councillors could have been a financial lifeline to Stratford Rugby Club, says its chairman.
Jason Savidge told the Observer he was disappointed and frustrated over the decision by Stratford District Council not to allow the one-off family festival to go ahead this July.
He said the event would have given the amateur sports club a vital boost to its profits following the economic challenges of the last few years.
SDC’s licencing panel refused a premises licence for the festival at the rugby club in Loxley Road at the end of last month due to “significant” concerns about noise and traffic.
The festival attracted opposition from a number of residents as well as SDC’s licencing and environmental health chiefs.
If given the go-ahead, the two day event, would have been staged on the weekend of July 12, from noon until 10pm, and July 13, from noon until 9pm, and feature music from a host of tribute bands, food and trade stands and fairground rides.
It was anticipated up to 2,500 people could attend the festival each day.
Mr Savidge continued: “We recognise that events such as these do have an impact on our neighbours. With that in mind we had been proactive in engaging with our neighbours and the council from the start, the vast majority had been supportive, with many having expressed an interest in attending.
“Compromises had been made to our event with the reduction of daily capacity by 50 per cent and also the closing time each evening brought forward by one hour.
“The professional event organisers had agreed to meet minimum noise levels that are recognised for such occasions and based on ticket sales it was obvious that the majority of people who had purchased lived within walking distance.”
He added: “The reality of running an amateur sports club, particularly since Covid and the uncertain economic outlook, is a difficult one. In order to mitigate the uncertain economic times of the last few years and ensure an ongoing viable future, the club has looked to expand the opportunities to introduce new revenue streams from our limited resources. This proposed event was one such opportunity to bring in additional revenue to the club during our usual quiet summer period.”
