A music festival held near Ashcott will not be going ahead after its licence was revoked following objections by the police.

Hugo Metcalfe started the Goddess of Many Names Festival in 2020 as a birthday party for his wife, and intended to stage a larger version in the first weekend in July.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary lodged a formal objection after a temporary event notice (TEN) licence was issued for the festival, citing concerns over traffic and the site having a history of illegal raves.

Sedgemoor District Council has now revoked the temporary licence, meaning the event can no longer go ahead.

The proposed site for the festival lies on land near Hillside Farm near Ashcott, not far from Street and Glastonbury.

Mr Metcalfe presented his case to a virtual licensing and gambling panel which sat yesterday afternoon (May 17).

He said: "It is an event with music, workshops and activities – just to be out in nature.

"It was borne out of a birthday party last year, and it was successful so we decided to do something bigger and jazzier.

"We are not running a rave. I have never been to a rave – I'm not even sure what a rave is.

"We have a maximum number of 200, but we currently expect there to be a total of 160 including staff and musicians. We don't expect to go higher than that.

"I imagine we'll be quite boring to most people, since we're not serving booze and we'll mostly be doing yoga."

Andrew Manhire, the police's licensing officer, said the site had been the scene of a number of "raves" or similar events in the last seven years, causing great discomfort to nearby residents.

He said: "This location has been hosting festival/rave-type events since 2014, two years after the land was purchased by Mark Cole, and events have been manifesting and getting worse ever since.

"We have been working with the local community to try to address the issues highlighted around these events – which include noise complaints, drugs, road issues and people at the events defecating both on the site and adjoining neighbouring land."

The police stated that they had received 16 calls relating to issues with the Hillside Farm site in August 2020 alone, with reports of 300 people attending one event with no masks, no social distancing and the road being turned into "a skating rink" through mud from vehicles.

Mr Manhire said Mr Cole (the landowner) had been "totally unco-operative" and had even "banned officers from going onto his land".

Mr Metcalfe, who lives in Trowbridge, said the site had been recommended to him by a friend who attended Menfest there, and claimed he was not aware of its reputation at the time.

"The fact that I have applied for a TEN and want to have a conversation – clearly I'm not trying to do anything underhand," he said.

"The last thing I want is a blocked road so people can't get in and out of their own homes."

Police licensing officer Nicola Cooper said the force was considering taking out an injunction to prevent events of any kind being held on the site in future.

Addressing Mr Metcalfe, she said: "My biggest concern is that, while your event is being run differently, it almost mirrors what has gone on before.

"In nine years as a licensing officer, I cannot recall a site causing as much community concern as this one."

After nearly an hour of confidential deliberation, the panel announced that a counter-notice would be issued, revoking the event's temporary licence and preventing it from going ahead.

Councillor Polly Costello, who chaired the panel, said the site's history had been "instrumental" in the decision to refuse permission, and that Mr Metcalfe's attempts to address issues with the site were "too little, too late".

She said: "I feel a bit sorry for this chap, since he picked the wrong field. But he didn't have a good plan in place, so we're backing the police on this one.

"Hopefully the people of Ashcott won't have to put up with any more nonsense."

Mr Metcalfe has 21 days to appeal the decision through the courts.