UP to six events a year can now be held at Shobrooke Park near Crediton.

Previously, only one event could be hosted each year in the historic parkland, which since 2010 has been the venue for the Enchanted Garden Ball for Exeter University students.

Mid Devon District Council has granted Showbitz Ltd a new licence following a hearing on Monday, June 16, allowing it to hold four 24-hour and two three-day events on the premises annually.

These can include plays, film screenings, live music, recorded music and dance performances.

The company can host the events largely between 10am and 2.30am, or until 3am for the three-day events.

Showbitz Ltd originally applied for up to 10 events per year and longer operating hours, mostly until 4am.

The maximum attendance will be restricted for any one event to 8,000 this year, 9,000 in 2026 and 9,999 in 2027. This includes staff, artists, security and management in addition to ticketholders.

Alcohol is allowed to be sold between 10am and 2am at the 24-hour events and between midday and 2.30am at the three-day events.

Events with more than 500 guests are required to have event management plans and involve a safety advisory group comprising representatives from the police, fire and ambulance services, district council and highways authority.

All events of more than 500 people with amplified recorded or live music must have noise management plans in place, with sound levels monitored at “noise-sensitive locations”, including Creedy Bridge, Cromwell Meadows, Creedy Court care home and Shobrooke Cross.

In addition, notices containing pre-event information such as when sound checks might be done, performance times and contact details for complaints must be displayed at site entrances and “if possible, on any relevant website” at least two weeks before the first day of the event.

Mid Devon District Council received 10 objections to the application.

Bellway Homes South West, which is currently building 257 homes at its Libbets Grange development at Creedy Bridge near Shobrooke Park, opposed the plans initially but then withdrew its objection.

Among other concerns, it was worried the proposal “may affect buyer perceptions and could present challenges in selling the homes”.

Crediton Care and Support Homes Ltd, which runs the Creedy Court residential home for people with complex care needs on the edge of Shobrooke Park, was also among the objectors.

“The residents of Creedy Court are vulnerable and therefore particularly sensitive to disruption in their routine and to any form of nuisance,” said a solicitor speaking on behalf of the company.

“Noise, whether from live music or amplified sound systems or traffic or people attending or performing at the events, can be hugely triggering.

“Some residents are inherently reactive to loud noises. Noise nuisance can result in sleep disturbance and consequential behavioural issues like anxiety and confusion.”

Concerns from members of the public who wrote to the council included noise pollution, litter, increased traffic and impact on wildlife.

“There are houses nearby and the noise level would be beyond comprehension,” said Wendy Hards.

“With a maximum site capacity of 9,999, there will no doubt be trouble, police would have to control crowds, traffic will be horrendous and with the proposal of alcohol being sold, and drink-driving inevitably there will be drugs and needles, a huge hazard where sheep graze.

“There will be disturbance of wildflowers and of course noise will affect the sheep.

“The narrow lanes would not cope with the amount of cars and tractors which use these roads during harvest time.

“We do not want another Glastonbury on our doorsteps.”

Charlotte Smith said: “The litter from such events (see all music festivals from Glastonbury to Reading for the impact this has) poses a threat to children and animals who enjoy the park from broken glass, leftover drugs and alcohol etc.”

Rory Knight Bruce wrote: “On any day there may be as many as 100 tractor movements within the small lanes of the parish.

“In silage/harvest/hay harvest/corn drilling (eg March to September) that figure would double.”

And John Everitt said: “The lanes around Shobrooke cannot cope with the amount of anticipated traffic for such large events held many times throughout the year and no account has been made of the inevitable increased traffic in the area from the large Libbets Grange development currently under construction just across the road from Shobrooke.”

Approving the licence, Mid Devon District Council said that there was “no overriding licensing objective which supported the refusal of the application”.

It said it was “sympathetic” to some of the concerns raised and felt the reduced hours and conditions put in place would “both allay the concerns expressed and satisfy the licensing policy”.

It added that it “would encourage consultation and co-operation between the premises and the local residents” around forthcoming events and any future concerns about the licence should be reported to the police and the district council.

It noted that the police, fire service and the council’s environmental health team did not object to the proposals, and that it had not had any complaints in the past three years about events at the premises.

The full list of activities and times within which they are permitted at Shobrooke Park is as follows:

For the 24-hour events, plays and films are allowed between the hours of 10am and 2am Monday to Thursday, 10am and 2.30am Friday to Saturday, and 10am and 2am on Sundays; live music is allowed between 10am and 2.30am Monday to Saturday, and 10am and 2am on Sundays; and recorded music, dance performances and “anything of a similar description” are allowed between 10am and 2.30am Monday to Sunday.

For the 72-hour events, plays and films are allowed between 10am and 2am Monday to Thursday, 10am and 3am Friday to Saturday, and 10am and 2am on Sundays; live music is allowed between 10am and 3am Monday to Saturday, and 10am and 2am on Sundays; and recorded music, dance performances and anything of a similar description are allowed between 10am and 3am Monday to Sunday.