By Cameron Blackshaw

A farm is seeking permission to stage a music festival next month, but nearby residents have labelled previous events as days of “utter lawlessness and debauchery”.

The owners of Beck Evans Farm in Water Lane, Sidcup, have asked Bexley Council for a premises licence to play music, sell alcohol and stay open late on Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6.

It relates to Becksfest, an event billed as a “family festival in Kent” that will feature several tribute music acts, DJs, food stands, bars and a children’s fun fair.

The farm initially applied for a licence for entertainment, the provision of late night refreshment and the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises to be allowed throughout the year.

However, this resulted in a serious backlash from Water Lane residents, with many submitting strong objections.

Neighbour Kevin Courtney stated the farm’s screening of last year’s UEFA Euro final on July 14 left him “shocked” and “traumatised”.

He said: “In 26 years of living in my home, I have never witnessed such [a] display of mass anti-social behaviour.”

He claimed to have witnessed numerous men urinating, smoking cannabis and inhaling laughing gas outside his house throughout the day of the event.

He also said he saw a car exit the site at high speed and crash into two parked vehicles, which resulted in its front offside wheel being severed.

Mr Courtney described the entire event as “another day of utter lawlessness and debauchery”, which took place on his doorstep and in front of others’ homes from 4pm till beyond 2am.

Ruth Harding, writing on behalf of her elderly parents who live in Water Lane, said that past events at Beck Evans Farm had led to children being exposed to “public urinations, drug taking, excessive alcohol intake, swearing and confrontational behaviour”.

Councillor Kurtis Christoforides also objected to the licensing application, calling the operators “wholly untrustworthy”.

He added: “The premises concerned are the single largest consumer of council enforcement resources in the borough.

“Vast quantities of officer time and public money have been wasted by the operator of this site on planning applications and appeals, including, remarkably, to the High Court, in which they lost.

“The operator has no regard whatsoever for nearby residents, the council and the rules and laws it is required to both follow and enforce, nor any concept of what constitutes reasonable activity in a semi-rural location.

“Despite holding a personal licence, they are not a fit and proper person to hold said licence or to oversee the sale of alcohol and hot food late into the night or the provision of regulated entertainment. They are wholly untrustworthy.”

As well as these objections from the councillor and residents, police and Bexley’s environmental health and licensing team also registered their objections to the application.

In response to the overwhelmingly negative representations, Beck Evans Farm altered its application so that it only applied to Becksfest.

Alongside this, the farm also provided a detailed 50-page document explaining how the event will be managed and operated. It also proposed that Becksfest will end at 10pm on July 5 and 9pm on July 6.

Bexley Council’s licensing subcommittee will decide on whether to grant the licence next Tuesday (June 10).