THIS SPRING’S Shindig Festival will go ahead as intended following a lengthy licensing hearing – despite police saying they are ‘not satisfied’ with the plans for the event.

Shindig Productions Ltd, which organises the annual festival, applied to move the event from its previous base at Gilcombe Farm near Bruton to the Dillington Park Estate near Ilminster.

The organisers received a grilling from South Somerset District Council on Monday (March 9) following a series of objections from the police and fire service, as well as local residents.

But after a three-hour hearing in Yeovil, councillors agreed to grant the licence, meaning this May’s event can take place as intended.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary originally objected to the event being granted a licence back in early-February, due to the organisers’ paperwork being “not satisfactory”.

Area licensing practitioner Nicola King told the council’s licensing sub-committee that the police were “not satisfied with the event management plan” – which includes the way emergency services respond to any problems which occur on-site.

She added any changes to the plan would need to be set in stone by March 20 to allow the police, fire and ambulance services to finalise their coverage during the festival dates.

Matthew Phips, representing Shindig’s organisers, apologised for the paperwork issues and promised the fine details of the event management plan would be finalised within the next fortnight.

He said: “We apologise unreservedly for the poor quality of paperwork received. There is no point dancing around that.

“We are genuinely grateful to the police, as they have worked hard to get us to the place where we are today.

“Within the next two weeks, a number of the policies and procedures, whether it’s about security or lost children, will need to be finalised.

“That the event management plan is not finalised today is normal and common practice.”

The festival organisers have promised to have a temporary 30mph speed limit near the entrance to the site in the village of Whitelackington.

But objector Henry Best, who lives in the village, said he was unhappy with the prospect of extra traffic on this road.

He said: “We do not believe that the roads are suitable for the volume of extra traffic which would be generated by this festival.

“The Ilminster bypass can often completely close when there are crashes, and when that happens traffic is redirected through the Seavingtons, Whitelackington and Ilminster. The festival would make this worse.

“I should remind you of Murphy’s Law – if something could happen, it will.”

After an adjournment of half an hour, the committee ultimately ruled that the festival could go ahead as planned.

Councillor Martin Wale – who chaired the committee – said he hope a similar hearing would not have to be convened at short notice if the event returned to the same venue in 2021.

He said: “It would be most helpful, if this is going to be an annual event in South Somerset, that the matters to be decided in terms of conditions are done well in advance of the day of the hearing.”