A high profile festival of food, drink and music planned for a prestigious St Albans park has finally received the green light from the district council.
The planned three-day Pub in the Park festival promises a musical line-up that includes Scouting for Girls, Toploader, Razorlight, Stereo MCs and Will Young.
Alongside the live entertainment there will be food and demonstrations by world-class chefs, Michelin starred pubs and other top food outlets – all fronted by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge.
Tickets for the September event – in Verulamium Park – are due to go on sale on February 1.
But last week it emerged that the event didn’t have the permission it needed to go-ahead.
Festival organisers Brand Events said they already had a contract with the council for the festival, but the council said discussions were still “at an early stage”.
Following a Herts Advertiser article highlighting the confusion over permissions, the district council has now announced its full support for the event.
Deputy chief executive Richard Shwe said: “Having a world class chef such as Tom Kerridge choose to bring his celebration of food and music to St Albans is tremendously exciting and a real coup for our city. We have been in discussion about the event since last summer and are excited by the plans. We can now confirm the necessary requirements have been satisfied and we are looking forward to working in partnership with the organisers to make the festival a triumph for everyone in St Albans.”
Tom Kerridge welcomed the news: “As the spiritual home of the public house, and the city with most pubs per head, it is only natural that we would choose to close our tour in such a lush venue. We can’t wait to feed and entertain the people of St Albans in September.”
Steve Lane, managing director of Brand Events added: “As organisers of events around the world for 20 years, including the much loved Taste Festivals and Carfest for BBC Children in Need, we pride ourselves on producing world class events that not only entertain but benefit the places we play and we have a number of local initiatives that will be announced in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to bring our incredible line up of food and music talent including Tom Odell, Razorlight and Will Young to the people of St Albans in September.”
More than 7,000 local residents have already signed up to a pre-sale list for the festival, and will have the chance to secure their tickets on January 31. Pub in the Park will be in Verulamium Park between September 13-15. For pre-sale tickets and line-up information join the Pub in the Park newsletter http://pubintheparkuk.com
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