Witney Music Festival organisers are urgently trying to correct the impression that it will be as big as the event they usually stage on The Leys following more public challenges.

Eight people have now objected to the scaled-down festival planned to take place on Church Green on September 25.

It was originally due to take place on August 21 but negotiations with the council over licensing had to be extended following what was thought to be two public challenges at that time.

The fresh complaints are mainly about noise levels and potential anti-social behaviour.

Chair Eric Marshall said: “My feeling, now I have read the objections, is they are imagining the event to be something it isn't. It feels that these objections have been made without fully understanding what we are planning which is an error on our part.”

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The event from noon to 10pm will feature around just 10 local bands playing on a small stage. There will be no stalls or fairgrounds.

“It’s effectively going to be busking on a very large scale,” he said.

In 2019 it was estimated a record-breaking crowd of more than 15,000 people partied on the town's Leys recreation ground for the festival.

Mr Marshall said: “This year's event is just something to entertain people and get them back into Witney. We want to try and provide a bumper day for the local businesses as our way of saying thank you for coming through the other side of the Covid lockdown.”

He added that organisers have worked hard to establish the best way to put the event on safely and cause the least amount of disruption to people living near by.

“We have a good record of delivering events in Witney that have brought joy to many people in Witney with no issues,” he said.

“These objections put the District Council in a difficult position, either they uphold the objections of eight people or disappoint the local businesses who stand to benefit and disappoint the people who would attend while shopping and enjoying our beautiful town."

Organisers meet with West Oxfordshire District Council on Friday where the objections will be reviewed.

Mr Marshall said: “People will be hugely disappointed if it doesn't go ahead especially the business owners we were trying to help with the event.”

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When the August date was postponed disappointed Witney residents pointed out on the festival’s webpage that many other festivals like Reading and Leeds have been able to go ahead and accused district councillors of being a 'killjoy'.

At that time Mr Marshall said: “That’s a complete misunderstanding. Witney Town Council and West Oxfordshire District Council have been super supportive.

“The district council wants this to happen. They and the town council have been incredibly supportive and we are having long and constructive conversations with them now.”

He said a grant of £9,750 from Witney Town Council was going to pay for it.

In place of a live event the hugely successful Witney Music Festival Reconnecting! was broadcast on YouTube, Windrush Radio, music streaming service MixCloud and video live streaming service Twitch back in June.

The live festival was cancelled in 2020 due to lockdown.