A LICENSING application to hold a controversial music festival in June has been withdrawn by the promoters.

GemFest 2025 had been due to be held across two counties over the weekend of June 13 to 15.

The application stated that the entertainment would be held in a field at Walterstone in Herefordshire, while the camping would be across the River Monnow and located at Pandy in Monmouthshire.

The application stated that the organisers were planning a 5,000-guest music festival, not only for this year, but for the next five years.

GemFest was held last year’s at Howle Hill, sparking unrest locally before the event, which was limited to just 500 people with strict running times as part of a temporary event notice condition. The festival went off without any issues being reported.

Though spanning the English-Welsh border, the licensable activities for this year’s event – alcohol sales, late-night food and drink, live and recorded music – were to be on the Herefordshire side. These would continue until 2am on the Friday and Saturday nights, and until midnight on the Sunday.

The promoters claim the event would feature ‘an eclectic range of electronic dance music and according to a map submitted with the plans, there would be six stages in total along with stalls and bars.

Longtown Group Parish Council told Herefordshire’s licensing committee that policing the event would require ‘significant manpower’ and that access for emergency services both to and within the festival site would be ‘severely restricted and suggested that the music and crowd noise would cause ‘extreme nuisance to local people’.

The application had been due to be heard by the council’s licensing committee on April 17, but this meeting was cancelled. A new date of May 2 was indicated, but in the meantime the application has been withdrawn by the promoters.

Advertising for the event is still being promoted on the organiser’s website.

The promoters have been asked for a comment.