Cornbury Park Licence Application

Thu 9 Dec 2010, 00:34

I say support the application. But, whether you are for or against,
please don't confuse the issue of the rights and wrongs of competing festivals at Cornbury &/or Tew with the issue of Lord Rotherwick's application to hold events at Cornbury.

Put aside your sentimental feelings for the festivals promoted by Hugh at Cornbury over the last 'n' years. The two men have gone their separate ways and you must accept that. It is their right to stage festivals at duly licenced locations and they will use their judgement as to what makes commercial sense.

Lord Rotherwick's application is to allow him to hold a number of varying events throughout the year, with late night time limits on performances, alcohol sales etc and with attendance numbers up to 19,999. His reason for making an application on that scale is surely to avoid the unneccesary additional costs which would be incurred if he sought to vary or extend a licence. The procedure is financially painful. Look at the WODC website and you'll find not only a 22 page application form but pages of notes and fees.

If I've read it correctly, several different fees are payable but then additionally, the 'event fee' seems to range from £100 to £635 with a max attendance of 5,000. An event with an audience of 5K/10K will cost £1,000, 10K/15K £2,000 or 15K/20K £4,000.

If you're paying that kind of money it must make sense to ask for permission to have 10/12/14 events but it does not mean that an applicant will actually use the licence to its full potential. Similarly, because permission may be granted for alcohol to be served until x o'clock, it doesn't necessarily follow that the bars will remain open to that hour.

Lord R is surely simply applying for an all-encompassing enabling licence and we should hope that it is granted - permitting him to stage successful events, some of which local people will be able to enjoy and others will bring financial benefit to local businesses and good causes.

The Cornbury Festivals haven't offered the kind of music I wish to listen to but I'm glad they've taken place for others to enjoy. The noise that wafts across hasn't bothered me one bit - unlike the groups of 5 or 6 Minis wizzing around Charlbury on the occasions of The Mini In The Park.

So, let's hope the application is successful and that Charlbury's residents will continue to benefit in so many ways.