After being bombarded by complaints from local residents, the Goa Cream Festival near Bristol has been cancelled.
Organisers had been planning to hold the dance music festival at Yewtree Farm in Thornbury, just north of the city, for the third year in a row.
However, the South Gloucestershire council refused to give permission after locals complained to the police last year about ‘non-stop heavy bass music’.
In a letter shared with the police, according to the BBC, it was ‘almost inhumane and a form of torture’.
One local resident said they had a headache all weekend, meanwhile, others stated their houses were shaking due to the noise.
Goa Cream, a psychedelic trance festival, was hoping to take place from September 12 to 14 but will now need to find a new home.
Florence Fisher, an environmental health officer, told the council meeting that last year’s festival resulted in 11 complaints.
She added that the environmental health team was shown poor screenshots of the equipment readings and given ‘numbers scribbled on pieces of paper’.
Attempting to calm residents, organiser Piers Ciappara assured that they had contracted a professional sound acoustic engineer for this year’s festival.
He said: ‘Last year we only had handwritten notes and photographs because the week after the event my colleague who had the sound system had a bad accident.
‘He nearly chopped his hand off cutting the grass so he couldn’t put a spreadsheet together – but this year we have a professional team with us.’
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Last year, they did their own noise monitoring with speakers reportedly directed towards the M5 and A38.
Ciappara said speakers could be reoriented further away from homes and they would also reduce alcohol sales if the application was approved.
The festival raises money for Bristol Suicide Prevention and Sharpness Lifeboat Station, with most of the gig-goers aged over 40, according to the organiser.
He added that lots of the festival attendees bring their children along.
Posting an update on the Goa Cream Facebook, he wrote: ‘Hi friends, Goa Cream is NOT cancelled !!
‘For all of you freaks looking forward to being tortured at Yewtree farm in September. I’m afraid South Gloucester Council have objected to our licence application, the long and short of it, “Yewtree farm is an unsuitable venue for music/dance festivals.”?
‘All this means is we are now looking for another venue for this September’s party. I am going to see other possible sites later this week, so fingers crossed
‘Just putting it out there, if you know of a suitable venue with like-minded land owners, please let us know One World, One Love, One Dancefloor.’
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