COUNCIL chiefs have explained why they granted a licence for a York festival to go ahead - then withdrew their support two days before it was due to take place.

The organisers of Mothership Festival, which was set to take place at Acomb Sports Club on Sunday, said they were "gutted beyond belief" by the last-minute cancellation.

They said the festival was going to be a sixth of its normal size and organisers had outlined coronavirus safety measures put in place and completed a Covid risk assessment - and all 499 tickets had sold out.

But a spokesperson for City of York Council said that although a licence was granted just weeks ago for the event to take place, the number of tickets sold exceeded the limit they had put on how many people could attend.

And that the event had not met safety requirements.

A post on the festival's Facebook page says: "Despite being given a licence for our festival, we have been informed by the ... council that they no longer support the event.

"The public health authority are not prepared to support the event under the current pandemic, and will enforce their powers to stop the event should we go ahead.

"We have worked hard to put on a safe event, to give the community something to look forward to after the terrible year we've had.

"Sadly we are unable to do so. We are gutted beyond belief."

Matthew Boxall, chair of the York Safety Advisory Group (SAG) which includes police, the fire and rescue service and the council's public health and public protection departments, said: “While previous festival plans have met the safety requirements at the time, plans for this summer’s event during the pandemic did not.

"The organiser sent SAG a document three days before the event which did not meet the robust safety measures needed. After careful consideration, SAG informed the organiser that it could not support the event and the organiser has decided to cancel this year’s festival.

“We appreciate that this is disappointing for everyone. Holding a festival during a pandemic has more risks and complexities than in pre-Covid times. We hope to work with it in the future to ensure everyone’s safety and that the festival returns successfully.”

“A temporary event licence had been granted in July this year which permitted a limited number of people at the event. That number has been exceeded and no plan to safely accommodate all ticket holders, performers, staff, artists, security and vendors has been given. In addition, the overriding concern of SAG remains with the quality of a Covid-19 risk assessment and its impact on the safety of all involved during the pandemic. Other outdoor events in the city are being held following very careful planning to mitigate risk for all involved and we continue working with organisers to establish all necessary safety precautions.

“We are still in a health crisis and only certain organisations can organise outdoor events. If they do so, they must undertake a robust Covid-19 risk assessment which follows the Government guidelines and includes effective social distancing measures and other requirements to reduce the risk of the virus’s transmission."