It is difficult to apportion blame when we do not know all of the facts. But it would seem to be a fact that the event planned for 2010 had taken place for the previous 3 years. It is not clear if permission was in place for these. If the organisers had not needed permission for these, they may have resonable concluded that they would not need it for the 2010 event.

So the issue here is that the event this year, with all its benefits, is being prevented, by the local authority as if the issue of licensing was their only responsibility. It was not as if the event planned for 2010 was the first time the LA and the police would have been aware of it. They had plenty of time to ensure that whatever licensing was required was in place to enable the 2010 event.

If LAs continue to use licensing as a means only to prevent valuable cultural activities, then licensing must be removed from them before they can prevent any more.