Organisers of that there Glastonbury Festival are taking advantage of new licencing rules and are applying for permission to stage a festival on Michael Eavis' Somerset farm each year until 2010. Previously any one licence could only last for one year, but new rules mean councils can now give event organisers a four year licence.
The licence application, submitted by Glastonbury's promoter partners Mean Fiddler, is also looking to increase capacity at the festival from 150,000 to 177,500, with plans for extra camping and entertainment areas to accommodate the extra festival goers.
Mendip District Council will gather opinions from local bodies, residents, business and the emergency services before reaching a decision on both the capacity increase and the four year licence proposal on 26 Mar, a week before organisers hope to start selling tickets.
There was a time when Glastonbury's annual licence application was somewhat fraught and, while it was never ultimately turned down, organisers had to tackle strong opposition from some local residents. But since the partnership with Mean Fiddler, and a crack down on people gaining illegitimate access by fence hopping or fake tickets, there has been generally less controversy around the licence application.
Organisers will hope previously reported additional anti-touting measures and plans to bus in a higher proportion of festival goers to reduce traffic congestion will all further placate the festival's neighbours.