Organisers of a music festival which had its licence revoked last year are thrilled to be bringing Summer Soul back to Royston after they won their appeal to have it reinstated.
Ad Hoc Bar & Kitchen is behind Summer Soul to the Square in Fish Hill, and operations manager Jason Todd said that this year’s event will be the the best yet.
“This year’s event can expect to be even better than previous years as the festival expands the perimeter up to Angel Pavement car park,” he said.
“This allows for more bars and food stalls for quicker service, additional seating and – in true festival style – a huge 6m x 4m flat screen where you can catch all the action happening on stage.”
The revoking of the licence was made following reports of anti-social behaviour and complaints about noise levels during the event – which has taken place annually at Fish Hill on a set Saturday in July for the past four years. A petition was launched which was signed by more than 1,000 people.
As part of the conditions for its reinstatement, Summer Soul will now take place on Sunday, August 27, and will move to Angel Pavement.
Jason added: “Ad Hoc would like to take this opportunity to pass on a greatly appreciated thank you to Royston Town Council, the town centre manager and North Hertfordshire District Council for their support.
“More importantly, a huge thank you to the thousand plus local residents who signed our petition and have supported the event year on year.
“We hope to see you all soon and thank you for your ongoing support Royston. Watch this space for more details!”
Councillor Bernard Lovewell, NHDC’s executive member for environmental health, said: “In December 2016, a licensing sub-committee granted a licence for the Summer Soul event to be held on the August bank holiday Sunday, however the committee suggested that the hours applied for should be reduced following reports of anti-social behaviour and noise nuisance at last year’s event.
“An appeal was lodged by the applicant and the council has worked with them to agree revised licence hours following amendments to the application.
“This will allow the event to proceed but offer suitable protection for the people of Royston.”
For more on Ad Hoc see www.adhocbarandkitchen.com
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