Plug is pulled on top music festival

The festival was set to switch to a new home at Shoreham Airport after being forced to move from its traditional site at Stanmer Park. But promoter Ish Ali yesterday pulled the plug on the three-day event, which has become one of the most popular music festivals in the country, after running into a series of obstacles. He is hoping to replace it with a two-day festival at Shoreham Airport on August 1 and 2. The festival has been held at Stanmer Park in Brighton every May for the past six years, with more than 45,000 people turning up over the three days in 1997. Top bands including The Prodigy, The Levellers and The Chemical Brothers have played in recent years. But Mr Ali was forced to look for an alternative site when Brighton and Hove Council placed a crowd capacity of 8,500 on future events. It followed growing complaints from residents over noise and rubbish, and controversy over the news that some local traders were still owed money from last year's festival. Essential eventually settled on Shoreham Airport for this year's festival, a move that again provoked protests from local residents and councillors. Hasler Residents' Association spokeswoman Dorothy Allwright said local people would probably have been prepared to give the festival a chance. She added: "We did feel it could cause problems with noise but we thought it should have run for a year to see what happened. "I think residents would have been split down the middle - it would have been something for the youngsters." In a statement to bands' agents, Mr Ali said: "With the licence hearing postponed until April 8, there would not have been time to sell the festival effectively. "The Saturday and Sunday event will offer Adur Council the opportunity to view a scaled-down festival with a view to granting a licence for our traditional event in May 1999."

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