A TOWN council in an ongoing feud with organisers of a music festival has agreed to review its approach to events – after the festival takes place.

The dispute arose earlier this year as a result of restrictions placed on Witney Music Festival by Witney Town Council amid claims ‘concerned residents’ had been in touch regarding the main event on The Leys this Saturday.

On Monday, festival organisers attended a council committee meeting and urged the body to consider relinquishing the level of responsibility it had been exerting over this year’s event.

Councillors said they would discuss the proposal during a full council meeting, which they would be unable to hold prior to the main event taking place.

Speaking at the meeting, festival chairman Eric Marshall argued that the town council should restrict its own responsibilities and leave more authority in the hands of the licensing committee at West Oxfordshire District Council and the Safety Advisory Group, which is made up of emergency services and assesses events in the interest of public safety.

Mr Marshall said: “It seems clear that the council is blurring the line between its responsibility as land owner, and that of the professionals who oversee events such as ours, namely the Safety Advisory Group and WODC licensing, which have the authority and means to take enforcement action against events which breach the terms of their licence and their guidance.

“This is in place to protect the public and ensure events don’t cause a nuisance.

"Therefore it is not the place of the council to attempt to duplicate the role of these professional bodies.

“The issues that have been created this year around the Witney Music Festival are down to the town council blurring this line of responsibility.”

The town council issued a statement on the festival last month, confirming some changes it had made to timings of The Leys event on Saturday, June 10.

Though the event’s after party was scheduled to conclude at 2am the next morning, the council said the funfair must finish at 10pm, live music on the stage must finish at 11pm and the whole site must be vacated by 12.30am.

The council said it was initially unaware organisers had planned to hold the after party until 2am.

Last year the funfair ran until 11pm and the after party until 1am.

The council said the changes were made as a result of concerns raised by residents.

It claimed there were worries about noise as well as the condition of the surface of the The Leys.

Councillors at Monday’s meeting agreed to review the council's approach to events, but said they would be unable to organise a full council meeting until after this year’s festival.

David Harvey said: “It seems to me the approach we may need to take with the request from Witney Music Festival is to consider their proposal as put forward tonight after this year’s event.

“We don’t have time to call a full council meeting before this year’s event.”

Chairman of the meeting Chris Holliday emphasised that councils are bound by rules and regulations that in this instance restricted them from making changes to earlier decisions without a full meeting.

Later in the meeting, Craig Raven, of Synapse Events Group, requested permission to speak.

Mr Raven’s company manages the event on The Leys and has said that previous statements by the council could be damaging to his business.

He recently threatened to bring legal action against the council if they did not back up or rescind these claims.

He intended to use his time speaking at the meeting to ask the council to substantiate the claims about ‘concerned residents’ and the event ‘causing a nuisance’, but was told he must instead raise this at full council.

Witney Music Festival, now in its 11th year, will run until Sunday..

Headliners The Undertones will take to the stage during the main event on Saturday.