A FAMILY-friendly Somerset music festival has had its licence revoked following an objection by the police.

Curry Rivel Live has been held in the village near Langport every summer since 2013, barring last year when the coronavirus pandemic prevented it going ahead.

The event was due to make a comeback on July 24 under new management, but Avon and Somerset Police lodged a formal complaint against a temporary licence.

As a result, South Somerset District Council has revoked the event’s licence, meaning this year’s festival will be cancelled.

Curry Rivel Live was originally the brainchild of resident Simon Champion, who ran the event with his wife Kirstine before they recently moved to the Canary Islands.

The event has been taken over by Brett Ashworth, of Yeovil-based Wizard Marquees and Events, which staged the Flashback Festival at the Yeovil Showground in late-May.

At the council’s licensing sub-committee meeting on Thursday, police licensing officer Nicola King claimed Mr Ashworth's application contained numerous errors, including the wrong site address and conflicting information about how the Challenge 25 policy would be enforced.

She said: “It is clear that the documents submitted to support this temporary event notice consists of many cut-and-paste issues, which creates confusion.

“It contains various errors and inaccuracies, and it has not been proof-read. It is clear that this document has just been rushed to pay lip service to various agencies.

“The application doesn’t state what will happen with a lost child on the site. How will the site be locked down and security staff deployed?

“We do not believe, on this occasion, that this plan reflects the licensing objectives.”

Mr Ashworth admitted that there were “some errors” in the event management plan which “need further work”.

He also referenced “possible legal action” by the police against his company in relation to the Flashback Festival, although he did not elaborate.

He added: “If things don’t go back to normal on July 19, we will cancel this.

“We can guarantee there will be no more than 499 people on-site at any one time and if we have to adjust ticket numbers, we will do it.

“We can work with the police like we always do to make sure they are happy.

"If they’re not happy with everything on-site, I will cancel the festival. I want people to be happy and safe with everything we do.”

The committee decided to revoke the temporary licence for Curry Rivel Live.

Chairman Cllr Crispin Raikes said: “Although we like to see these community events go ahead, we do not feel that on this occasion we can grant this notice and therefore it is being refused.”