Music festival postponed amid safety concerns
A music festival has been postponed until next year after councillors rejected plans for a new venue licence due to safety concerns.
Organisers of Askern Music Festival said this year’s event, which was due to be held on 13 July, will no longer take place.
The festival will next take place on 7 June 2025, at the Eco Power Stadium near Doncaster city centre.
Ticket holders for this year’s event will be able to transfer these to next year’s festival, while camping and parking costs will be refunded.
Organisers said several artists from this year’s line-up have been re-confirmed, although Billy Ocean would no longer be headlining, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.
The cancellation comes after an application to hold the event at Askern Events Field was denied by Doncaster Council.
The authority’s licensing sub-committee rejected the application for a premises licence over concerns around safety and road traffic management.
Askern Music Festival organisers said they had "exhausted every possible avenue" to address the issues, but "our efforts fell short".
'Rigorous standards'
They said: "Despite our team’s intensive efforts to keep the festival in Askern, we have outgrown the town and can no longer feasibly hold the event here.
"The site’s limitations combined with the rigorous safety standards set by the council presented a challenge that was just too much for us to overcome.”
It marks the latest in a series of tumultuous events for the festival, after a venue change to Thornhurst Manor in 2023 led to organisation issues.
Attendees reported queues of up to three hours at bars across the site, with delays of two hours to leave the festival.
In light of this year’s postponement, ticket prices will be reduced to £55 for adults and £125 for a family ticket.
A free bus service will be put in place to accommodate travel for ticket holders in Askern.
Those wishing to refund their tickets will be able to request to do so through the company until 13 July, or through See Tickets.
Details on how to refund camping, campervan pitches and parking will be released in the coming weeks.
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