LIVE at Lydiard's future is uncertain after plans to move the festival to a new venue were refused.

Last year's successful debut event attracted big names from British music like Anne Marie and Dizzee Rascal to Lydiard Park, where they performed to 10,000 people.

Following that promising start, organisers The Culture Collective had hoped to shift its location to at Park Farm on Hook Street in Lydiard Tregoze in order to increase capacity for crowds and provide a better experience for festivalgoers.

That area is in Wiltshire Council territory so the local authority's licensing subcommittee had to decide whether to allow this big move to happen.

Lydiard Park, Swindon Borough Council, and Environmental Health had all written in objections to the application

Wilthsire Council ultimately decided not to approve the licence bid due to concerns about safe crowd control, the festival's impact on traffic, and it potentially causing a nuisance for nearby neighbours.

Coun Ian Blair-Pilling is Wiltshire Council's cabinet member for public protection.

He said: “The Licensing Subcommittee took into account the evidence from all parties and with regard to the statutory guidance, the council’s Statement of Licensing Policy and the Licensing Act 2003, and a decision was made to refuse the premises licence applied for the Live at Lydiard event.

“The subcommittee was not satisfied that the applicant would promote the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and public safety of patrons attending the event.

"It considered that there was a lack of evidence regarding the crowd management in place for an event with a potential for 15,000 patrons in attendance, alongside appropriate traffic management and the impact that the event could have on the local community area.”

The meeting to make the licensing decision was due to take place in Chippenham on March 29, but a mixture of Covid-related absences and more time being needed to gather information and documentation meant it was postponed for a month. 

Two weeks ago, the festival's organisers revealed Rag'n'Bone would be headlining, with Example, Jax Jones and Blue DeTiger set to appear at the August event along with 25 other artists yet to be revealed - but this licence refusal may have thrown a spanner in the works.

A spokesman for Live at Lydiard said: "Following our official licence hearing on April 26, we are reviewing the response from the council and will have an official update on the situation at the beginning of next week."