ALCOHOL BAN IS NOT LIFTED

ALCOHOL will be banned from Buskfest for the second year in a row, the Leader can reveal.

Revellers in Banbridge will not be allowed to consume alcohol while watching some of their favourite bands perform in Solitude Park on Saturday June 19.

A ban on the sale and consumption of alcohol at last year's event caused controversy with many people attributing the dramatic 88 per cent downturn in attendance to the fact drinks were not allowed.

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A question over the sale of alcohol at the event was first raised in Banbridge District Council last year and was met with mixed reaction among councillors and the district's residents.

Just 500 people watched Aslan perform in the town's Leisure Centre last year compared to a massive gathering of 4,000 revellers the year before.

Further controversy resulted after the council snubbed the offer of a charity bar provided by a local publican and voted instead to introduce a blanket ban on alcohol.

Solitude Park's 'alcohol free zone' status would require the organisers to apply for an alcohol licence but a council spokeswoman said that had not been done.

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"There are no plans to provide bar facilities at the event this year," she said.

Councillors have been divided on the issue, with some welcoming the news and others at a loss to see why alcohol will not be permitted at a well-policed event.

DUP councillor Junior McCrum said, "I think to bring children into an atmosphere where there is going to be alcohol and probably drunk people is totally irrepsonsible.

"I would hate to think young children would start drinking at Buskfest and end up having problems with drink later on in life.

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"Alcohol isn't allowed in Solitude any other day of the year so we shouldn't be able to cherry-pick."

SDLP councillor Cassie McDermott said she thinks banning alcohol again will prove even more costly to this years concert.

"I honestly don't see why there should be a ban - there hasn't been any real trouble in previous years," she said.

"I had a lot of complaints about the ban last year and think people might be put off going agan this year becuase they cannot have social drink."

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