​Glastonbury future secured after council grants permanent planning permission

Councillors at Mendip District Council have granted permanent planning permission for Pilton’s Glastonbury Festival following uncertainty over the event’s future, Somerset Live reports.

The festival has faced ongoing back-and-forth with the local council to grant planning permission extending after 2024, when the current rolling contract is due to end.

Glastonbury Festival Events Ltd. (GFEL) has been on a rolling temporary planning permission contract since 2010 which allows it to hold its eponymous festival and other events on Worthy Farm in Pilton.

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In 2021, despite attempts to secure a permanent contract, Mendip District Council argued that an extension would not be granted since it was “contrary to best planning practice” as laid out by the government.

The GFEL went up for a final meeting on Wednesday, March 29, where the council’s planning board approved plans and secured the permanent future of Glastonbury at Worthy Farm. The decision was approved with 11 votes to none, and one abstention.

Approved plans will allow both Glastonbury Festival and Pilton Party to be hosted once a year, camping events during festival fallow years, and agricultural use outside of festival season. It will also allow Glastonbury’s iconic Pyramid Stage to be made into a permanent fixture.

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“The grant of planning permission will provide certainty and secure the future of the largest and most iconic music and performing arts festival in Europe,” said a spokesman for Planning Sphere, who represent GFEL.

The festival must continue to abide by terms of its official licence, which limits noise and crowd capacity following pressure from Mendip District Council in late 2022 arguing complaints of “excessive loudness and low-frequency noise” from locals.

Glastonbury Festival was also asked to cut capacity in October amidst a bid to combat illegal drug use, and was required to adhere to a new "management plan".

[Via Somerset Live]

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter