New licence granted for festival

Licensing chiefs have granted a new permit to allow El Dorado Festival to go ahead at Eastnor Deer Park near Ledbury.

Festival organisers Out of Nowhere Ltd asked Herefordshire Council for a new premises licence which allows up to 19,999 on site at the 300-acre park any one time.

The event was cancelled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but the festival is expected to go ahead this year and has already sold out.

If it does go ahead, it will be its sixth instalment and it is planned to take place from July 1 to July 5.

The council has today approved a new premises licence which allows for plays, films, dance, live and recorded music to go ahead from 10am to 2am on the Thursday and from 10am to 4am on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

And late-night refreshment may be served indoors and outdoors on the Thursday from 11pm to 2am and 11pm to 4am the Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Alcohol may be sold on site from noon on the Thursday to 2 am and from 11am to 3.30am the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Yasmin Gallerti, event director, explained why there had been many noise complaints about the festival in 2018 and highlighted the steps they have since taken to address these concerns.

“During 2018, we did undergo quite a bit of a site redesign and we also added a new stage which was in a new area of the site,” she told today’s licensing sub-committee meeting.

“We received 15 complaints over the course of the weekend. We did send our noise consultants out to check the levels at those locations and found we were within the levels described in the licence.

“However, the Monday after the event in 2018 we were made aware by the council of the significant number of complaints they had been receiving.”

She said they held talks with the council and explained why it had occurred which included the position of the stages.

“And we created a plan that we implemented in 2019 including the change of the site layout and directionality of the stages, improved noise modelling, additional onsite resource with sound technicians and noise consultants as well as additional noise monitoring points.”

She also said they met up with residents to address their concerns and put up posters in Ledbury giving people the noise complaint number.

“During 2019, we only received one complaint to the noise line and we also received commendation from the local Ledbury Reporter to say thank you for turning it down.

“And also received commendation from the council about the significant reduction in complaints we received in regard of noise.”

Licensing chairman Alan Seldon said the committee had decided to grant the licence.

“We note the community engagement and availability of staff and the hotline for noise for virtually the whole of the Ledbury area.

“We also note that the safety advisory group will be signing off the management plan before the event.