BNP bids to sell alcohol at festival

Organisers of a BNP festival are pushing ahead with plans to sell alcohol at the event.

They have told Amber Valley Borough Council they intend to sell drink at the Red, White and Blue festival in Denby. The move comes just over a month after an application for a premises licence, which allows alcohol to be sold, was withdrawn after police objected.

Organiser David Shapcott has now notified the council through a temporary event notice that he intends to sell alcohol in a marquee. Under the previous application for a licence, alcohol could have been sold across the site in Codnor-Denby Lane.

A temporary event notice authorises licensable activities to take place on a short-term basis but, if police object, the licensing panel would make the final decision.

Mr Shapcott said there would be a maximum of 499 people allowed in the marquee at any one time. But in a statement, the council said the notice would limit the amount of people allowed to attend the whole event to 499. It reads: “The notice will enable the organisers to provide the licensable activities at the event subject to certain conditions, namely that a maximum of 499 people attend the event and that the event does not last more than 96 consecutive hours.”

Mr Shapcott said that 4,000 tickets had already been sold. He said: “The police have informed me they're considering the application and are thinking of objecting. They'll give a definitive answer today.”

Police previously objected after getting intelligence that left-wing groups would demonstrate at the festival, due to take place from August 15 to 17.

Derbyshire Evening Telegraph