A MUSIC festival that will see crowds of more than 5,000 people has been given the green light. 

Marvellous Festival was given the go-ahead for a licence to stage the tribute act show at the site on Saturday, July 23, and Sunday, July 24 by a subcommittee of Wokingham Borough Council’s licensing and appeals committee.

The festival is expected to attract up to 5,000 people to the country park and organisers Marvellous have applied for a licence to play music between 12pm and 12am for the three days every July - though the festival is only scheduled for the Saturday and Sunday.

Organisers applied for a licence to sell alcohol between 11am and 11.30pm and for the opening hours of between 11am and 12am and plan to host it on the old car park at the site with parking for 1,380 cars and a 600 space overflow car park.

However, 22 residents wrote to the subcommittee ahead of the meeting with Hurst Parish Council and The Hurst Village Society (HVS) raising concerns over conditions in the 1975 planning application for the park which forbids the use of loud-speakers.

Secretary of HVS Annette Drake, a former chairman of planning at Wokingham Borough Council, said she was upset the plans had not been considered as a full planning application as the site was designated as a place for leisure with no noise outside buildings. 

"When we got to the licensing committee there remained only the choice for the officers to say yes or no. Had there been a full planning meeting a lot of residents' concerns might have been alleviated."
Hurst resident Geoff Manning expressed fears about the 'unsuitability of the site'.

He said: "It is not at all suitable for parking a lot of cars on, it is low line and the lake is right next to it. 

"Over the last 25 years I have been involved in tractor engine rallies and I know with that amount of vehicles it doesn't take much to turn into a quagmire or a mini Somme. I know from bitter experience that once a field is ploughed up it takes a farmer up to a year to restore it so what is Dinton Pastures going to be like if they're expecting at least 2,000 cars a day.

"Obviously the council have got to rent it out for revenue, but it is ill-thought-out and in the wrong area. 

"Winnersh crossroads is bad at the best of times so with 2,000 cars a day for three days it is going to be carnage." 

Conditions that the owner of Winnersh-based Marvellous, Stephen Stanton, must comply to include a contact number being supplied to Hurst Parish Council seven days before the festival and that litter picking is carried out throughout. 

Marvellous Festival had been hosted in Riseley’s Wellington Country Park for more than a decade but had to find a new home due to its popularity.