ORGANISERS of a planned music event in Stanford-le-Hope have bounced back from the disappointment of having their event licence application rejected last night and they say the show will go on.

As reported on Thurrock Nub News last evening (Thursday, 11 August) Thurrock Council's licensing committee vetoed the application for the event planned for the Billet Field in Stanford-le-Hope on Saturday, 10 September.

The event is being organised, in association with the management of the Crooked Billet pub, by Red Room Records Ltd.

Thurrock Council had already agreed to hire the public open space to Red Room and the booking has been confirmed and paid for. The application for a licence was regarded as something of a formality, as the organisers believed they had met all the conditions stipulated by both police and the council – and they had already opened consultation and communication with local residents.

However, at the eleventh hour, a campaign against the event was fronted up by local ward councillor Shane Hebb, who appeared to be responding to concerns from seven nearby residents.

Cllr Hebb's robust condemnation of the event, and a critical appraisal of the management of the Crooked Billet, was highlighted in a Nub News story published in advance of the licensing meeting.

Nevertheless, given the fact that they believed they had met all the stipulations for an event – and having had the venue booking and payment accepted by the council - Red Room were hopeful that they would get the green light.

However, despite answering all the questions posed by the three councillors at last night's meeting, Red Room were shocked when the three councillors adjourned the meeting, met in secret and then announced through an officer, rather than committee chair Cllr Gary Collins, that the licence had been refused.

Last night's meeting was reported on Thurrock Nub News as it happened.

Less than 24 hours after that shock, organisers Lewis Graham from Red Room and Kacy White, the production manager from White's Sound And Lighting, met with management at the Crooked Billet and they have announced an event will still take place.

Mr Graham told Nub News: "It will be smaller in scale and we clearly will not have the space to do everything we initially wanted, including having three sound stages, but the pub and its function room and the curtilage of the pub and car park together gives us an opportunity.

"We can still utilise the booking on the field to a degree because we will be eligible under existing licencing legislation to run an event with smaller numbers and so we are pleased to say the show is going to go on and there will be an event here on Saturday, 10 September.

"Ironically, because we will be using a smaller area, it is possible that things that we would have been able to control over a larger, fenced and well marshalled site, might spill over beyond what boundaries we can now legally set.

"We will, of course, do everything within our power to minimise any inconvenience to residents and the local community but by forcing us to do less, in a way the decision last night limits what we are able to do and so is detrimental to the sentiments expressed by Cllr Hebb.

"The license was declined over event egress at the end of the show, even though we had thoroughly detailed through our crowd management and event management plan about how we would control this by using staggered stage closing and redeploying security and stewarding staff along the route to the train station. Now that level of management may not be possible.

"It's almost as if the council has shot itself in the foot but we still want to work with the council and are very open to engaging with them – and the police – to make sure we have a fantastic event next month.

"We were shocked by, and don't really understand last night's decision, as we have met all the expectations outlined by the police and the council and we have organised much bigger events in other areas without such negativity and with success.

"But we are not going to get down about it, we are accentuating the positive and we want to bring something special to Stanford-le-Hope and Thurrock."