CREAMFIELDS campaigners who challenged the event’s licensing conditions will have to foot a bill of £13,285 after a district judge ruled in favour of the organisers.

Two residents from Neighbourhood Action Group (NAG) went head-to-head with Halton Borough Council and Cream after appealing the council’s decision in June to grant a licence for this weekend’s two day dance gathering.

Paul Barlow, member of NAG, spoke at the two-day hearing at Halton Magistrates’ Court last week.

He said: “We were naturally extremely disappointed at the decision which seemed to ignore all of our points and issues.

“The awarding of hefty costs was a shock especially as Government guidance suggests that awarding of costs against residents should be an exception and not the rule.”

Mr Barlow, of Park Lane, Walton, and Peter Priestner, of Holly Hedge Lane, Walton, were ordered to pay £3,285 to Halton Borough Council and £10,000 to Cream after district judge Miriam Shelvey halved the organiser’s costs from £20,000.

HBC said the costs reflect the work undertaken by its workers so there is no loss to taxpayers.

Mr Barlow said: “People should not be put off having their concerns presented before the licensing hearing – it is their legal right.

“The message then is clear – everyone who has a genuine complaint must let someone know about it by ringing one of the complaint lines at the time. Complaints made and logged during the event carry more weight and can influence the responsible authorities when considering licence applications.”

During the court case Halton and Warrington Borough Councils and representatives for Creamfields said that no complaints were made after 11pm at last year’s August bank holiday event.

Jim King, of CI Events Ltd on behalf of Cream, said: “We are clearly very pleased with the judge’s decision to dismiss the appeal. The judgement was that the licence was awarded correctly and was compliant with the legislation and most importantly that the event has adhered to the licence conditions as set out by Halton Borough Council.

“The evidence provided by all the expert witnesses was accepted by the judge and the fact that there were fewer than 40 noise complaints from last year’s event, demonstrated that our management plan is robust. The significant costs that have been awarded against the appellants clearly shows there were never credible grounds to make the appeal in the first place. Moving forward we will strive to continue to improve and reduce any disturbance that Creamfields brings.”

NAG will not challenge Judge Shelvey’s decision further.