The Sheffield Council licensing subcommittee approved the request at a meeting yesterday.
SJM Concerts – which, along with the Arctic Monkeys, has worked with big names like Billie Eilish and Stormzy – has applied for a license for an event spanning a maximum of three days between May and September in 2023 or 2024.
The working title of the event is “City of Sheffield Music, Interaction and Culture”, COSMIC, and specific dates of June 2-3, 2023 have been proposed.
SJM said there would be a stage and up to 39,999 attendees each day, plus staff and contractors.
They said the live music would take place between 4 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. with about three supporting acts and one main act per day.
Councilor Joe Otten, chairman of the committee, said: “I am happy that we are able to license another music festival in Sheffield. Music is one of the strengths of our city and festivals bring us joy.
“But I’m also sympathetic to the neighboring Hillsborough Park residents who may not appreciate the nuisance and seem to be getting more than their fair share, and potentially losing the normal use of their local park for much of the summer. I suggested that the council consider using more sites so that the whole burden does not fall on the residents of Hillsborough.
There were three formal objections to the request from local residents and the Hillsborough Green Party.
An objector, Simon Benton, said: “The disruption and noise it would cause as well as the loss of public space for a significant period of time makes it unacceptable in my opinion. Sheffield has enough designated venues to organize this stuff without having to use residential areas. Hillsborough Park has homes so close that people have reported that the windows shake when the streetcars are on, it is not acceptable to put locals through this more than once a year.
Julie Birch, who lives across the street from the park, said: “I accept that the park hosts some events, but another intrusive pop concert is completely over the top.”
Matt Proctor, the council’s licensing officer, said in a report that SJM had agreed to a number of conditions to prevent things like disruption to local residents and crime and to keep the public safe.
Steve Walton of SJM said: “One thing that I think needs to be clarified is that once you get a license it doesn’t mean the event is 100% happening because that you have to go through the entire Security Advisory Group. process and we need buy-in from all agencies in this regard. So it is never acquired just because we have the license that the event occurs, there are certain processes that we have to follow and give assurances. “
He said they have a dedicated resident link to address any concerns from residents.
