Joe GallopForbidden Forest festival will continue to be staged at Leicestershire’s Belvoir Castle each year, after its licence was approved despite complaints from local residents.
The festival, run by the same team behind We Are FSTVL in Essex, took place at Belvoir Castle for the first time this year, with a lineup including Basement Jaxx, Craig David, Chase and Status and Sub Focus.
According to Leicestershire Live, residents complained to Melton Borough Council about noise and late-night traffic after the promoter applied for a permanent licence to hold the event at the castle.
During a licensing meeting, a solicitor representing the promoter said, “There are of course learnings to be made and that’s why we applied for a one-off licence as a test event but are back before you now for a permanent one. The police are happy and didn’t raise any objections at all; the environmental health team is happy.”
Councillors voted to approve the licence subject to conditions, including that organisers continue to engage with neighbouring parish councils – including those outside the borough – and that every effort is made to point speakers away from nearby villages.
The event will next take place at Belvoir Castle from 2-3 July. It had previously taken place at Wild Oaks Forest, Bourne with a capacity of 6,500.