Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Harbourside 4-day music festival gets summer go-ahead
AFOUR-NIGHT summer music festival at the Lloyds Amphitheatre headlined by the Sugababes will go ahead after councillors granted permission.
It will be the fourth year running that the Siren and Sequences event has been held at the harbourside open-air venue, with up to 5,000 fans set to attend each evening from August 1-4.
Police and Bristol City Council’s noise pollution team initially lodged representations, prompting a licensing sub-committee hearing on Thursday.
But both authorities agreed conditions in advance with the organisers, while one resident who objected did not attend.
The panel agreed to a two-year licence which means the festival can be held again next year if it goes well again.
Solicitor Matthew Phipps, representing organisers and producers Slammin Events and Bristolbased promoters and artist-bookers Platinum Live, told councillors that the concerts had been for one day in 2021, two in 2022, three last year and now four this August.
He said: “The applicants, promoters, organisers and conditions are the same. Having established ourselves and building this in a proportionate manner we are asking for a fourth day this year.
“After making repeated applications for one year, we felt a twoyear licence would be fair and proportionate this year just to save us all the aggravation of having to go through the process. Every pub, restaurant and hotel has a licence in perpetuity.
“We are not seeking a licence for 100 years but for two years, knowing full well it will be reviewed if it does not go well. There is no suggestion that two years is greedy.”
He said a debrief meeting with officers after the 2023 event was “all very positive”.
Mr Phipps said: “These meetings can be frosty but this was a warm cup of tea and a ‘well done and crack on’.”
He said the council’s sites permissions team would still have to give consent to use the amphitheatre again next year even with a licence in place and that months of discussions would also take place in advance with the safety advisory group.
Sub-committee chairman Cllr Richard Eddy (Conservative, Bishopsworth), pictured inset, said: “I’m pleased and gratified by the successful negotiations about conditions with the police and pollution control – that is reassuring.
“About two months ago I chaired the licensing committee that determined an open-air event once a year in Queen Square and that was for five years.”
He said issuing a licence for more than one year was consistent with that decision to approve the application.
Cllr Eddy said: “I’m very pleased to see that, from the evidence, it has been so successful.”
He said the panel decided that the city centre cumulative impact area policy, which assumes that alcohol-led licences will be refused, had not been triggered because of the nature of the event.
“Drinks dispensing is not going to potentially add to disorder or congregations after 11pm,” Cllr Eddy said.
Iconic 2000s girlband the Sugababes’ original pop trio will headline the first evening on Thursday, August 1, while Saturday will see the return of Hospitality on the Harbour with drum and bass artists.
Acts for Friday and Sunday are yet to be announced, along with the dates for 2025. The venue will be open to the public from 4pm to 11.20pm on Thursday and Friday, 1pm to 11.20pm on Saturday and 4pm to 10.50pm on Sunday, with alcohol sales ending at 11pm on the first three nights and 10.30pm on Sunday.