Why was Bristol dance festival canceled? Complaints from locals explored 

The Bristol dance festival has been axed this year amid complaints from local residents.

The Goa Cream Festival has been canceled for the third consecutive year. It was scheduled to take place at Yewtree Farm near Thornbury, just north of Bristol, and was expected to draw a large audience for its ninth annual run.

However, South Gloucestershire councilors have now interjected, to put a halt to the event that was scheduled to be held from September 12-14, citing discussions with the council’s environmental health team, and Avon and Somerset Police, both of whom are backing the cancellation. The organizer, however, has claimed that the festival is not canceled, adding that they are exploring fresh venues to host this year's gala.

Everything we know about the Bristol dance festival as organizers claim it won't be axed this year

As reported by BBC News, one local resident who wrote a letter to the police last year claimed that the “non-stop heavy bass music” was

“almost inhumane and a form of torture.”

According to NME, environmental health officer Florence Fisher told the council meeting that last year, the festival prompted 11 formal complaints from nearby residents, noting that the environmental health team was only given “numbers scribbled on pieces of paper” and unreadable screenshots of the equipment’s readings.

Per the outlet, another resident claimed that the festival caused them a headache all weekend, while others contended that the loud music would make their windows and houses tremble.

Police licensing officer Wes Hussey cited a complaint from a resident who said that the event had a “profound effect” on him and his family, noting that time of the music and alcohol sales could culminate in confrontation.

In a bid to curb the growing concerns, festival organizer Piers Ciappara cited several measures taken to tackle the noise issues, noting that while last year's festival had amateur noise monitoring, this year, a professional sound acoustic engineer had been hired to ensure compliance with regulations.

He said: “Last year we only had handwritten notes and photographs because the week after the event my colleague who had the sound system had a bad accident. He nearly chopped his hand off cutting the grass so he couldn’t put a spreadsheet together – but this year we have a professional team with us.”

He also added that the psychedelic trance event tends to attract attendees over the age of 40 on an average, with a lot of them bringing their children. He also noted that the event helps raise money for Bristol Suicide Prevention and Sharpness Lifeboat Station.

Furthermore, he suggested changing the orientation of the speakers to divert the noise away from the residential areas and considered reducing the alcohol sales time.

Notably, in an update shared on Facebook, Ciappara wrote:

"Goa Cream is NOT cancelled !!"

He added:

"For all of you freaks looking forward to being tortured at Yewtree farm in September. I’m afraid South Gloucester Council have objected to our licence application, the long and short of it, “Yewtree farm is an unsuitable venue for music/dance festivals." All this means is we are now looking for another venue for this September’s party. I am going to see other possible sites later this week, so fingers crossed. Just putting it out there, if you know of a suitable venue with like-minded land owners, please let us know One World, One Love, One Dancefloor," he penned.

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At the time of publishing, further details about the event remain unclear. As of now, the event seems to be canceled.

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