Didsbury Craft Beer Festival cancelled over crowd safety fears

A beer festival where Hacienda legend Graeme Park was set to DJ has been cancelled over crowd safety fears.

Didsbury Craft Beer Festival was due to take place at Didsbury Sports Ground in the Manchester suburb over the late May bank holiday weekend.

Manchester City Council refused to give it a licence over capacity concerns.

Organisers said the festival was fundraising for Didsbury Toc H Rugby Club and Didsbury FC, and they were "trying to stay alive".

The event was also set to feature performances from 90s electronic duo K Klass and ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce.

Organisers had not yet sold tickets but started marketing on social media.

Clive Smith, one of the organisers, told a council licensing meeting on Monday that they were hoping to raise money from the festival to help with costs that were "going through the roof".

He said: "Nothing is set in stone for us.

"If that means changing the acts or leaving this festival, that's what we are happy to do."

Greater Manchester Police and council licensing officers objected to the Craft Beer Festival going ahead, not to be confused with Didsbury Beer Festival, which has been held annually for 11 years at St Catherine's Community Centre.

The force believed there was a risk of "traffic chaos", which organisers said would be prevented by asking people not to use their cars to get there.

They also objected to the amount of toilets available - 25 toilet facilities for 460 ticket holders - which they thought could lead to public urination.

But PC Alan Isherwood said their biggest fear was how overcrowding would be "dealt with" stating the event would probably attract more than the allowed capacity - at 499.

"Our concern is that through word-of-mouth, people will say 'have you heard they are playing?' and they will go down," he said.

Licensing officers added their worry over "three days of noise nuisance" for residents with "the nearest property only 230ft (70m) away".

Clive Smith said highlighting a self-imposed 60dBa limit on noise levels and pointing speakers towards the River Mersey would minimise noise issues, staging marshals on Ford Lane would direct traffic and discourage public urination, and appealing to the "40s and 50s demographic" would attempt to quell anti-social behaviour.

Despite the committee, chaired by councillor Carmine Grimshaw, "recognising the work you do for the community", they rejected the application over "a lack of clarity" on concerns raised.

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