TIME was called on a popular beer festival after organisers applied too late for their licence.
Frodsham Winter Beer Festival was due to be held this weekend at the Parish Church Hall but festival organisers had to cancel after they were refused a temporary event licence.
This year’s festival, which was expected to raise up to £2,000 for local charities, would have seen the launch of the first Frodsham-brewed beer from Stationhouse Brewery, which recently relocated to Lady Heyes Craft Centre, Kingsley Road.
Head of Vale Royal Borough Council Environmental Health and Housing Services, Rupert Adams said: “One of the requirements for the temporary event notice application is that we should have 10 working days wherever possible.
“We received their application on December 20 which has given us no opportunity to process the application on time.
“The whole of the council offices, excluding a few exceptions like leisure centres and an on-calls process for emergencies, were shut between 5pm on December 21, and 8.30am on January 2.”
Ray Wallwork of Frodsham Care charity that runs the beer festival said: “It was deemed to be late, we don’t think we were but we couldn’t do anything about it.
“We only found out we didn’t have it on the Sunday before Christmas. I tried to reschedule it a week later but couldn’t get a slot in the hall.
“Then we tried to appeal, we were led to believe there would be someone in on the Thursday after Christmas but there wasn’t so I had to cancel.”
“It’s rather soured our Christmas, it’s such a nice festival, we’re all gutted.”
Stationhouse Brewery owner Barrie Davidson said: “I’m sad that it’s not going ahead.”
The next Frodsham beer festival will be held on April 11–12 at Frodsham Community Centre, Fluin Lane.
