A rock festival hosted by a EuroMillions jackpot winner at his £6.5 million mansion has been called off after neighbors expressed concern that the event would bring ‘noise and chaos’ to the area.
The Cambridge Rock Festival, which attracts around 2,000 visitors, was due to take place on the 90-acre grounds of Adrian Bayford’s Horseheath Lodge estate, which he bought in 2012 after winning £148 million in the lottery.
The event has been held at various locations in Cambridgeshire since 2004, with Bayford, 52, hosting it at his estate in the village of Linton in 2017 and 2018.
The four-day festival, which hosted an array of headline performers including Thunder, Uriah Heep and Hazel O’Connor, was scheduled to run from August 3-6.
Fans have been left disappointed after festival organizers were forced to shut down the festival after Cambridge City Council refused to grant it a licence.
Adrian Bayford (right) who won the £148m EuroMillions jackpot with his wife Gillian (left) plans to host the Cambridge Rock Festival in the 90-acre grounds of his Horseheath Lodge estate
The former postman (pictured) bought his 90-acre Horseheath Lodge estate for £6.5m after winning £148m in the lottery
Mr Bayford became one of England’s biggest ever EuroMillions jackpot winners when he won £148m with his now ex-wife Gillian, while they were both living in Haverhill, Suffolk.
The former postman later split from his wife just 15 months after winning the multi-million pound jackpot after nine years of marriage.
A statement on the festival’s Facebook site said those who purchased tickets would be refunded or given the option to hold onto their tickets for next year’s event.
The statement read: ‘It is with deep regret that the Cambridge Rock Festival Committee must inform you that this year’s festival cannot go ahead as planned.’
‘Although this would have been our 3rd time at Horseheath Lodge, the license is now required (not as before), effectively a decision out of our control for this year.
‘You can imagine that we are devastated to break this news to you. However, we would like to invite you to celebrate 20 years of our first festival in 2024! Our tentative dates are 1st – 4th August 2024 TBC, back at Horseheath Lodge.
‘If you pay for the ticket there are two options. You can choose to support the festival by keeping them and use them next year as they will still be valid, or you can request a refund by emailing crfhelpline@gmail.com.
‘Please note you can now buy tickets for 2024 on our website, but the line-up has not yet been updated for 2024 as we have confirmed the availability of every band from the 2023 line-up. Thank you to everyone involved for their help behind the scenes, and thank you so much for your support and understanding.’
Earlier this year neighbors in Bayford pestered him about holding the festival again, fearing it would bring ‘noise and disorder’.
Adrian Bayford and his wife Gillian split in 2012, nearly 15 months after winning the jackpot together
Adrian Bayford planned to host the Cambridge Rock Festival at his 90-acre Horseheath Lodge estate in Cambridgeshire.
The £129 event, which was set to feature 60 rock bands, saw music playing until 11pm every night.
Festival organizers said they were advised to apply for multiple temporary event notices for the last two events at Bayford’s estate, which only required a 10-day notice period.
‘There were no noise complaints, no rowdy behavior or drug problems and no traffic problems. Many happy and mature festival goers enjoyed the events across 2 years (2017, 2018) in a beautiful safe location,’ said the organizers.
They said they had ‘no reason to believe this year will be any different’ but the current incumbents will not allow them to use temporary event notices and instead require a premises licence.
They said a license hearing needed to be held and it could be delayed until July 28 – five days before the festival – they had to cancel.
‘The hearing has been necessitated by the meaningful representation of local residents,’ they added.
‘Their concerns actually stemmed from the perception that the CRF was responsible for local noise problems. Loud drum and bass dance music originated elsewhere, another much, much louder and later event (with a very different and younger demographic to ours, which happened recently in the local area).
‘Our marquee has three stages, about 150 meters from each other, which prevents us from running too hard to limit unwanted ‘crosstalk’ between stages.’
They said they are continuing to apply for licenses and hope to run the event again next year.
They added: ‘We will continue to apply for the license to be approved as this will set us up for the 2024 festival and beyond. We do not expect it to be rejected.
‘We have been working, and will continue to work, to address any concerns in partnership with the council and local residents. The issues raised will no doubt be dismissed at our hearing but sadly it will be too late for CRF23.
‘We’re really devastated that this means we can’t go ahead with the festival after doing so much over the last 12 months.’
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