U.K. summer festival Beach Break Live has been moved to the new site of Port Lympne Safari Park in Kent after permission to use the original site in Cornwall was rejected. The event is targeted at university students.
According to organizers, a panel of councillors from the area voted against granting the four-day event permission to be held at St Agnes in Cornwall seven days before it was scheduled to begin on June 16. This happened despite the approval of police, fire, highways, health and safety, and the planning officer, which had already granted organizers a license to use the site.
In a statement, Celia Norowzian, founder of Beach Break Live, said: “I can’t say how delighted we are. This has been a heartbreaking few weeks but we literally feel like a miracle has happened. The most shocking thing is that Cornwall’s economy is really struggling in the recession – there’s over 30 firms going bust everyday but we’re still doing our best to bring as many Cornish firms and artists with us as possible.”
After failing to acquire another license to hold the event at a nearby site, it was forced to move to Kent. An imitation beach will be built for the 10,000-strong crowd and transport options have been made available for those incurring extra costs due to the change in venue.
The 2009 event, the third instalment of Beach Break Live, features Dizzee Rascal as headliner, alongside the Zutons, Mystery Jet, Friendly Fires and Ladyhawke.
