Stratford District Council’s decision to refuse music and cider festival labelled ‘disappointing’ amid assurances money will be refunded
THE fallout over Stratford District Council’s decision to refuse a music and cider festival planned at Stratford Rugby Club continued this week.
One would-be festival-goer contacted the Herald to say how devastated she was that the event had been cancelled after she and her friends had forked out hundreds of pounds on tickets.
Laura Basnett, a mum-of-three from Newbold, thought that the Stratford Cider and Music Festival due to take place on 12th and 13th July would be the perfect location to celebrate her husband Luke’s birthday.
She explained: “It’s my husband’s 40th birthday that weekend. We planned to have around 50 there – and around 30 of us bought tickets, all in the VIP area. Alarm bells rang when the rest of our friends said they couldn’t get through to buy tickets, that they weren’t on sale anymore.”
She continued: “I found out on Facebook that they were having licensing issues. But that was weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything since, despite trying to contact the organiser. It’s just been total radio silence. Emails have been bouncing back.”
Meanwhile organiser James Dean of 25 Eight Events gave reassurances that ticket-holders would not lose out.
“We are deeply saddened that Stratford council has blocked our event happening at the rugby club,” he told the Herald. “The rugby club themselves as well as hoards of local residents have been extremely supportive throughout the process and we can’t thank them enough.
“In my 20 years as an event organiser this has never happened to us. There is already an event in November on the site which holds a lot more people than we were proposing.
“We’ve contacted all ticket holders to offer them alternative tickets to our long-established festivals. For customers who don’t wish to come to our other events we will of course be sending them a full refund including the booking fee. The refunds are being processed as fast as possible.”
He added: “We are committed to putting on an event in Stratford and will continue to do so for 2026.”
Nonetheless Mrs Basnett says she remains frustrated at the way things have been handled.
“I think it’s the lack of communication, it’s just not fair on people,” she said. “I bought five VIP tickets and that was £160. I’ve got a whole load of people asking me what’s going on for my husband’s birthday and I’ve had to tell them that I don’t know when they’ll get their money back. I don’t know what we’re going to do.
“Luke’s birthday, 12th July, isn’t far away and I’ve now got to rearrange something else, but people are down on money, so it’s just cast a shadow on his 40th. I’ve been out trying to find somewhere else to hold something, and it’s just difficult.”
Meanwhile Jason Savidge, of Stratford Rugby Club, is equally disappointed the festival was refused permission by SDC during a licensing meeting – largely on safety and nuisance fears.
He told the Herald: “We’re incredibly disappointed and frustrated by SDC’s decision, in particular the length of time and red tape in reaching this outcome.
“We recognise that events such as these do have an impact on our neighbours. With that in mind we had been proactive in engaging with our neighbours and the council from the start, the vast majority had been supportive, with many having expressed an interest in attending.
“Compromises had been made to our event with the reduction of daily capacity by 50 per cent and also the closing time each evening brought forward by an hour.
“The professional event organisers had agreed to meet minimum noise levels that are recognised for such occasions and based on ticket sales it was obvious that the majority of people who had purchased lived within walking distance.”
Mr Savidge said the rugby club needed the vital revenue that the festival would have earned.
“The reality of running an amateur sports club, particularly since Covid and the uncertain economic outlook, is a difficult one,” he told the Herald. “In order to mitigate the uncertain economic times of the last few years and ensure an ongoing viable future, the club has looked to expand the opportunities to introduce new revenue streams from our limited resources. This proposed event was one such opportunity to bring in additional revenue to the club during our usual quiet summer period.”
He added: “We thank those residents of the town and wider area for their support. It’s clear from comments on social media from the public and a number of councillors and mayors that there is an appetite for events such as this. With this in mind, we’ll continue to investigate all options so both the club and wider community can enjoy the economic and social benefits of an annual summer event and further engage with the council.”
