the French model of lobbying the central government departments is highly unlikely to deliver quick results as there is a lot more power for local authorities in Britain than in France…

The French civil service is even slower than ours (and many delays in Whitehall are actually because things are on public consultation!)
But the French central govt want things done “plus vite” thye simply overrule the local government agencies and the local people’s objections, using the gendarmerie if need be to get the job done!

that is how the teknivals happen in that country (and the building of nuclear power stations, dams and other contentious things).

these teknivals are bitterly opposed by some locals same as in the UK, and the councils drag their heels on co-operating with the central government for as long as they can (hence the lack of clarity earlier in the year over the chenille-tek licence).

Incidentally I would expect the local Green councillors knew all about the dangerous caterpillars (chenilles) as they were monitoring the wildlife there (the reason for their opposition), but as they chose not to co-operate with organisers this danger was overlooked and many who attended suffered serious and in some cases lasting health problems.

Also overlooked by the authorities was the violent conflict between a (small minority) of the French crew and the English visitors.

A case of “c’était magnifique – mais c’était presque la guerre!”.

French ravers also lost some of their previous gains by not clearing up properly and allowing violence (including rape and firearms crime) to cause problems at events.

The French also only had to deal with their ministry for youth and culture.

in Britain there are three govt depts involved

Home Office – overall security and emergency planning (may be lead department)
DCMS (culture, media and sport) – licensing issues
Defra – land access issues, noise levels and cleanup issues

They would all have to consult one another even to answer a query, and TBH would not be too ready to invest resources in dealing with what would be seen as the desires of a small minority of the population when the country is at war and also flapping about bird flu (another issue which involves all three of these departments).

However a small event could be done under the new licensing laws but only if a farmer in the vicinity gave permission for his land to be used and the cops were OK about it. there may also be the need to pay a non-returnable fee to the local authorities, and have endless meetings with cops, council types etc (so they have to be people without major criminal records…)

But nimbys are well aware of this and are already preparing to bitterly oppose any attempts to hold events of this nature by any means necessary. They are people in their middle years or old age, with considerable resources and more importantly time on their hands to write letters, attend meetings, speak to bobbies (or even sarges and inspectors!) over a cup of tea or a funny handshake.

Every time someone whinges in this country through offical channels, a public official has to at least log and file the complaint and there is often an extra meeting. Many people deliberately use this to delay things happening that they do not like – unfortunately that is what “local democracy” really is in a negative-minded country like England (I notice few people ever write a letter of support for anything, it always seems to be complaints)

where I live is near semi-rural areas, the village halls are campaigning for a mere extra hour at weekends and they are receiving stacks of objections from the nimby brigade.

the only way it could happen would be (and I know elraveon will not like this and perhaps with good reason after the débacle of Exodus) if a benevolent or local permitted an event and supported a license application (maybe a farmer who has found that the removal of subsidies makes his business less viable).

Even so, just a few incidents such as cars being badly parked or fights / trouble / fires/ overdoses at the event leading to the attendance of blue lights would jepoardise the whole thing. I know people who do the Henley come together festivals, they are young locals and they really have to fight to keep that event going, and then they are fucked over because local chavs fight at the event / fall in the Thames / rag cars on the site and the objections mount up.

thats the harsh reality of what we are up against, and that is all the power we have got. Direct action has been tried, the locals have fought back, and the stompers have mostly been stamped down by the authorities.

That said if anyone tried to get a temporary event license anywhere near me I’d try and rally support for it; I want to be able once again to cycle to a local party like I used to!

yes – of course there should be that freedom to gather, provided its not destroying anyone elses freedom (its part of the human rights declaration which middle englanders are trying to repeal).

but there’s no way that freedom would be given unconditionally for large male-dominated gatherings, if it did it would probably result in a bloodbath (as the gangs moved in to carve out their turf).

This is exactly what happened with the fairs and tradional customs of the middle ages; the farmworkers and apprentices formed gangs, settled old scores and fought/killed one another, young maidens were raped, stalls trashed and burned in disputes, the authorities of the day realised these “medieval chav-fests” didn’t “add value” and started making sure they were licensed.

Although fairs still exist they are heavily licensed and controlled – those who put them on are still hated (even by the youth who attend them) and also dragged down by hangers-on who get them linked with crime.

The people throw away their power by fighting amongst themselves or their own weaknesses/addictions; until that changes they will never achieve anything.