A TECHNO, funk and soul music festival has failed to secure a licence to stage a three-day event in a field between Bracknell and Wokingham this August.

A licensing panel yesterday refused to grant a Temporary Event Notice to the organisers of Varkala Festival after objections from Bracknell Forest's environmental health team over the impact of 12 hours of music a day on nearby residents.

However, applicant Jamie Bowkett says he hasn't given up his dream of hosting his own festival and is busy preparing a new licence application to put fears of the impact of thumping dance music at bay. 

If approved, 400 revellers would camp at the site over three days from August 12 to 14 with music from the site off Old Wokingham Road continuing until 2am on Friday and Saturday and 12am on Sunday.

Kate Powell, a member of the council's environmental health team, objected on the grounds that normal noise levels in the area after 11pm would between 35 to 40 decibels, but she believed the noise level inside households during the festival would be at 60 decibels, "significantly above" the normal noise level.

She said: "I say that after 11pm residents should not be able to hear the music inside their properties.

"I'm also concerned that festivals which has this type of music will have a significant impact, it's the continual thump, thump of a music beat that can irritate people when they are trying to sleep and I do not think offering residents ear plugs is an acceptable way to deal with this."

Described by organisers as a boutique, intimate festival in the 'soul-baked surroundings' of the farm, the festival's original site in Colchester fell through after problems with the owner leaving organisers little time to track down the new Park View Farm venue. 

Speaking of his disappointment with the refusal, Mr Bowkett said: "As my application was refused on one point around managing sound levels, I feel confident that I can work with environmental health to resolve their concerns with noise disruption. 

"As agreed in the meeting on Wednesday, I will be employing a qualified acoustics expert to assess the site so as to provide Bracknell Forest Council with a full written report on which methods and precautions I will need to put in place to ensure that the peace of the local residents is not disrupted.

"Furthermore, I will also be reaching out to the site's closest residents to personally inform them about what is going on and when.

"I will be re-applying as soon as environmental health are happy with my application, which will hopefully be in around a weeks time."