HAY-on-Wye’s Crunch festival of art and philosophy, scheduled to take place at the Globe in November, has been cancelled because of a change in the licensing laws.

The change - the fact the popular venue can no longer use temporary event notices to hold events outside - also puts next year’s HowTheLightGetsIn festival in doubt as well as threatening the very future of the Globe itself.

Hilary Lawson from the Globe said that until now both festivals have been covered by temporary event notices.

“As such they didn’t require the support of the environmental health department which covers any noise issues,” she said.

“That changed earlier this year and HowTheLight GetsIn attracted five complaints about noise.

"On the basis of these complaints, the environmental health officer has indicated that the department would not be agreeing to a temporary event notice, leaving us to rely on the licence held by the Globe, a licence which doesn’t extend to the outside space.

“In that situation we recognised that we couldn’t generate sufficient revenue and reluctantly decided to cancel.”

Hilary added: “We will be applying for a new licence for the Globe to enable us to hold events outside and that will go to a hearing, but we don’t know when that will be.

“If we don’t get it, the future of the Globe itself is under threat.”

About 40,000 people visit the Globe every year and Hilary claims the loss of the venue could have a major impact on Hay’s unique cultural image.

Fiona Howard, mayor of Hay-on-Wye, is dismayed by the decision.

She said: “I appreciate that noise levels need to be kept to a reasonable level but we can’t lose this income. Hay is a vibrant town but we can’t afford to rest on our laurels.”