Dacorum capped the new Berkhamsted festival at 3,500 people a day, cut music to 10.30pm and banned fireworks. Dates, line-up, times and ticket prices.
A new three-day music festival can go ahead at Berkhamsted from 11 to 13 September, but Dacorum Borough Council has capped it at 3,500 people a day and pulled the music forward by half an hour.
The council’s Licensing of Alcohol and Gambling Sub-Committee granted the premises licence for Kitchener’s Field, Castle Hill, on 13 August. It attached conditions the applicant had not offered (Dacorum Borough Council draft minutes).
The conditions imposed were:
- attendees limited to 3,500
- live and recorded music on Friday 11 September from 15:00 to 22:30
- live and recorded music on Saturday 12 September from 12:00 to 22:30
- alcohol sales on both those days ending at 22:30
- late night refreshment cut from 23:30 to 23:00 on the Friday and Saturday
- no fireworks of any kind
- no portable barbecues, beyond the equipment used by the official food vendors
The sub-committee recorded that the last two were imposed “to take into account the unseasonably warm weather”.
What was asked for, and what was granted
The application was made by Brewfest Ltd, trading as Berko Fields Festival, for a time-limited licence covering the three days. It sought music and alcohol until 23:00 on the Friday and Saturday, and late night refreshment until 23:30, with the premises open to the public until 23:30 (officer’s report, Appendix A).
| Activity | Applied for | Granted |
|---|---|---|
| Music, Friday | 15:00 to 23:00 | 15:00 to 22:30 |
| Music, Saturday | 12:00 to 23:00 | 12:00 to 22:30 |
| Music, Sunday | 12:00 to 18:00 | 12:00 to 18:00 |
| Alcohol, Friday and Saturday | to 23:00 | to 22:30 |
| Late night refreshment | to 23:30 | to 23:00 |
| Maximum attendance | none stated in the application | 3,500 a day |
The capacity condition is the significant one. The application itself set out no maximum attendance figure. Residents’ written submissions to the hearing said the organiser had told them at a meeting in June that the event needed around 5,000 people a day to be viable, and that its own advertising had used the same number (written submissions, page 16). The sub-committee’s cap is 30 per cent below that figure.
The objections, and the support
The council received 34 objections from residents living near the site during the consultation, and 25 emails of support. All 59 are published in full in the committee papers, with names and addresses redacted.
Objectors raised noise carrying from an open, elevated site into surrounding gardens, late-night dispersal through residential streets, the lack of on-site parking, fire risk on dry grass, and the site’s position inside the Chilterns National Landscape next to Berkhamsted Castle. Several noted that the published programme referred to strobe lighting, smoke, lasers, pyrotechnics, flames, CO2 and drones.
Supporters wrote about the boost to the town’s shops, cafes and pubs, a platform for local performers, and a lack of anything comparable in the calendar.
No responsible authority objected. The report records no representations from Hertfordshire Constabulary, the fire officer, public health, the council’s environmental and community protection pollution team or trading standards. The planning team did not respond.
The hearing was chaired by Councillor David Deacon, sitting with Councillors Jonathan Gale, Ron Tindall and Terry Douris. The meeting ended at 1pm. Parties to a licensing hearing, including the applicant and those who made representations, have 21 days from being notified of the decision to appeal to a magistrates’ court.
What is actually on
The festival’s own site sets out three separate days at Berkhamsted Cricket Club (berkofields.co.uk):
- Friday 11 September, “The House Takeover”, over-18s only, gates 15:00, ends 22:30. Headline DJ sets from Fish56Octagon and DJ SKT.
- Saturday 12 September, all ages, gates 12:00, ends 22:30. Local acts through the afternoon, then Danny Howard and Symphonica.
- Sunday 13 September, the “Big Kids’ Festival” with Raver Tots, all ages, gates 12:00, ends 18:00. So Solid Crew (Romeo, Lisa Maffia and Dan Da Man), Artful Dodger, Panda, Mollie Collins with Leanne Louise, Nicky Blackmarket with Shabba D, Moody Mike with Hyperactive MC and DJ Steady.
A 400-drone light show is advertised for the Friday and Saturday nights. The organiser does not publish a start time for it; under the licence, music and alcohol stop at 22:30 on both nights.
Ticket prices on the organiser’s own Ticket Tailor page, checked on 30 August, are below. First-release adult tickets for the Friday and the Saturday had already sold out.
| Ticket | Price including booking fee |
|---|---|
| Friday, general admission, second release | £28.50 |
| Friday, four-for-three group deal | £85.50 |
| Saturday, adult, second release | £40.50 |
| Sunday, adult, second release | £24.50 |
| Two-day weekend pass, over-18s | £57.50 |
| Three-day weekend pass, over-18s | £97.55 |
What it means for you
If you are going, the licence, not the line-up, is what sets your last drink and the last song: 22:30 on the Friday and Saturday, 18:00 on the Sunday. Food service finishes at 23:00 on the two late nights.
If you live near Castle Hill, the enforceable limits are now the ones listed above. Complaints about noise on the nights themselves go to Dacorum’s environmental and community protection team, which is the responsible authority for that licensing objective; a breach of a condition is a matter for the licensing authority and the police.
The festival site publishes no travel or parking guidance as of 30 August, and objectors told the council there is no parking on the site itself. Dacorum’s car parks charge 8am to 6pm seven days a week and are free outside those hours, and the tariffs are on our parking page. Anything closing or diverting that weekend will be listed on our roadworks and travel page.
Sources: Dacorum Borough Council, Licensing of Alcohol and Gambling Sub-Committee, 13 August 2026: draft minutes, officer’s report, Appendix A and representations and written submissions. Line-up, times and prices from berkofields.co.uk and its Ticket Tailor page, checked 30 August 2026.
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