Charity festival called off over licensing issue

A Merseyside charity music festival has been called off due to an unforeseen licensing issue.

Maggie's Fest, an annual music event hosted by cancer charity Maggie's Wirral, was due to take place at Brimstage Farm near Birkenhead on Saturday.

The charity will instead host a family fun day, with zipwires, tractor rides, and a maze, organisers told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Wirral Council said it supported the "very worthwhile cause" of the charity but there had been an issue with the temporary event notice submitted for the festival.

The charity said: "We know how much this event means to our supporters and we share in the disappointment that we cannot bring Maggie's Fest to life as planned this year."

It also said it was "incredibly grateful for the understanding and continued support" from the community.

The charity said all Maggie's Fest ticket holders had been contacted by email with further information regarding their tickets and the options available to them.

It also said the festival would be back "bigger and better than ever" next year, with 26 June or 17 July being eyed up as potential dates.

A Wirral Council spokesperson said the authority "fully appreciates that Maggie's Fest raises much-needed funds for a very worthwhile cause and is a popular event for residents and supporters".

The council said it had tried to work with the organisers to resolve the issue but "sadly this was not possible".

"However, we will continue to work with the organisers on any future event proposals and support efforts to bring Maggie's Fest back in future years," the authority added.

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