Food festival organiser banned from staging events
BBCA festival organiser has been told it will not be able to hold events in part of Staffordshire following an investigation by a local authority.
Lichfield District Council said it had rejected Cocker Hoop Creative Limited's application to hold the Lichfield Food Festival in August and that it would also reject any future applications from the company.
The authority said it was urgently considering other options to enable the event to go ahead.
A spokesperson for the firm said the were disappointed with the decision and would be seeking legal advice.
"We're incredibly disappointed and frustrated with Lichfield Council's decision to reject our licence for the Lichfield Food Festival without any consultation with us," they said.
"We have successfully organised the festival for 10 years which brings over 175,000 people into the city, boosting the local economy."
A spokesperson for the local authority said: "The council was deeply concerned by last week's news that Cocker Hoop Creative Limited had cancelled the Yorkshire Dales Food Festival less than 14 days before the event."
They added that following the decision on Wednesday, any further applications by the company or associated firms to hold events on district council land or public spaces in the district would be rejected.
"The council understands how important the Lichfield Food Festival is to residents, businesses, traders and visitors," they said.
"As such the council is urgently considering alternative options to ensure that a food festival does go ahead in August."
The authority promised further updates on its plans "as soon as possible".
On Tuesday the organisers said they had paused trader applications while an "urgent internal review" was undertaken.
It followed the cancellation of the Yorkshire Dales Food and Drink Festival, by the same organisers, which had been due to take place later this month.
Jon Arrowsmith, managing director of Cocker Hoop Creative, said there had been "too many challenges" to make the Yorkshire event work.
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