Green light for festival

9:11am Wednesday 7th May 2008

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A DANCE music festival for up to 10,000 revellers can be held in the Hampshire countryside, councillors have ruled.

Promoters Slammin' Vinyl will stage the huge event - dubbed the Sanctuary Festival - from the evening of Friday, August 8, to the early hours of Sunday, August 10.

It comes after they ran a similar event, which had a capacity of 15,000 people, last June. While the date has changed, the venue will remain as the Matterley Bowl, between the A31 and A272 east of Winchester.

It is a natural amphitheatre which has successfully hosted music festivals for about a decade. At its peak it has attracted crowds of more than 30,000.

Paul Rooney, of Slammin' Vinyl, told Winchester City Council licensing chiefs: "The first event we held at the site took place last year, and considering the adverse weather conditions it was deemed by all to be a success.

"This year we've moved it to August, in the hope that it will be slightly drier than last year."

Only one letter of objection was received. It came from the Upper Itchen Valley Society, which raised concerns about noise, traffic, litter, and light pollution. Cllr Neil Baxter, who represents the area, spoke on its behalf at the meeting. He added that while larger festivals had taken place before, they were over within 24 hours.

"These events used to be for one night, but now we're up to two nights, and I'm wondering where we're going to stop," he said.

However, neither the police nor council officers raised any objections.