Please try and be more accurate Malvern Gazette. As everyone who reads the Herefordshire papers knows, the festival was not pulled by the council. It could not go ahead because the organiser sold thousands of tickets without applying for a licence from the council and the police until two weeks before the event - leaving not enough time to consult the residents of the tiny village of Much Marcle who would have been swamped with an unregulated unpoliced festival. If the organisers had been more professional they would probably have got their licence.

The organiser of the cancelled Rock N Roots festival claimed that the UK music scene would ‘turn its back on Herefordshire’. The best response to that is the report that the county’s Big Chill festival, held in early August, was the most successful yet with over 40,000 people enjoying a safe and well-organised event.

Herefordshire Council worked with the police and the fire and rescue service on the event and good and early communication between the organisers and the authorities guaranteed a wonderful experience and positive atmosphere for all festival goers, many of whom were local people.

The Big Chill has had rave reviews in the national press and its success is testament to the fact that Herefordshire can host even the largest and complex event, which is now firmly established at the heart of the national festival calendar.

Herefordshire Council, which actually produces a DVD for event organisers to highlight key issues, carried out a review of the Big Chill event this week. The council will be working with the organisers several months in advance of the 2009 festival and will be helping to ensure that many other events large and small are successfully delivered throughout the year.

The Big Chill is a unique and eclectic mix of music, comedy, art and multimedia and has been held at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire since 2001 where its beautiful setting has drawn the crowds ever since.