Red Rooster Festival in Thetford cancelled until next year
The Red Rooster Festival has been postponed until next year, with organisers claiming it was after Public Health England 'failed to engage' with them.
The festival, planned for September, was supposed to be one of the few happening across the country this year, but in a statement on their website organisers said PHE failed to reach out to discuss plans which would have allowed the festival to go ahead.
The statement said: "We submitted all of our documentation and health and safety measures, and although we are extremely appreciative that West Suffolk Council and the emergency services all wanted to support Red Rooster proceeding in September, Public Health England have failed to engage with us and they have failed to reach out to discuss our plans.
"Public Health is a vital part of the process of getting the green light, and we would not proceed without us being 100 per cent certain of all our measures and that we had their approval.
"We are immensely disappointed in them failing to engage with us."
A spokesperson for West Suffolk Council said they had been working with the festival organisers and 'had given feedback on their risk assessment.'
David Edwards, health protection consultant at PHE East of England, said: "Decisions on festivals and other community events are rightly made by the local authority who undertake a full evaluation and risk assessment.
"In the same way, it is not for PHE to advise on Event Safety Management Plans for individual events, as the issuing of licences again rests with the local authority.
"PHE does provide public health advice to the local authority on request.
"In this instance, PHE was approached indirectly by the West Suffolk Council Safety Advisory Group (SAG) in connection with the Red Rooster event.
"We were able to provide signposting to relevant current national guidance and direction, in terms of what was needed to progress the steps necessary for the event to be considered."