Divisive plans to host more large-scale events with a capacity for 5,000 people in a park have been given the go-ahead by council officials.

A bid by the organisers of Canterbury Pride was unveiled last month and will see Dane John Gardens in the city take centre stage for various shows.

The team behind the hugely successful LGBTQ+ celebration - which was enjoyed by more than 30,000 people in June - will take on the task of organising the newly agreed events.

Members of Canterbury City Council spent more than three hours debating and deliberating over the idea before finally coming to the decision to allow the scheme to go ahead.

Speaking on behalf of the applicants at the licensing meeting, Michael Kheng was keen to stress the potential granting of the licence would only be the first step in a long-winded process.

“This premises licence is just the first piece of the jigsaw, there’s lots of other pieces to be put in place for an event to happen,” said Mr Kheng.

“It would be fairly unique, it’s a more rigorous process than what you would get if you had a large beer garden.

“If I had a pub with a large beer garden and I had a premises licence for that I would just crack on and have an event.

“Canterbury City Council ultimately decide if an event could go ahead or not, it’s not right to say there could be an event that could happen every weekend, that’s down to Canterbury City Council.”

Licensable activities will be authorised between 10am and 9pm - previously hoped to be 9am to 9pm - on any event day while the opening times of the park will be 10am - 10pm on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday on event days.

The soon-to-be previous licence allowed for the serving of alcohol and playing of live music, as well as other licensable activities, to take place from Friday to Sunday, between 11am and 8pm.

Each activity may not last any longer than 96 hours - four days - and will be limited to being hosted four times a year, one of which will be the city’s Pride celebration.

Capacity restrictions will be put in place during the events, which will see the organisers require to keep the crowd below 5,000 people at any one time.

Licensable activities include the playing of live and recorded music, the supply of alcohol and the showing of plays and films.

Discussing the decision to submit the licensing bid, Ian Blackmore - a director of Pride Canterbury - said a new licence will give them the scope to enhance the city’s cultural offering.

“We are losing our cultural events which have been in our calendar for ages, such as the Wise Words Festival or City Sound Project, which were both Arts Council funded,” he said.

“We have been asked by people in our circles if we can step in to stop things going under or bring back events.

“We’ve not got a portfolio of four events ready to go, but we want the provision in place so we can step in.”

And various people and businesses in the city expressed their support for the plans, with many making a point of making their feelings publicly known.

Jonathan Woodger, general manager of The Drapers Arms in Sun Street, Canterbury, supported the scheme - noting a “profoundly positive impact” the Pride event has on the city.

“The Pride Directors have consistently demonstrated their commitment to fostering a vibrant and diverse city centre by organizing inclusive events that celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and promote equality and acceptance,” said Mr Woodger.

“These events have had a profoundly positive impact on the cultural fabric of our city, helping to build bridges between different communities and promoting understanding and unity.

“Their commitment to inclusivity, the vibrancy they bring to our city centre, and the financial benefits they generate for local businesses make them exemplary candidates to host these events under the new licence.”

However, festival organisers were previously forced to defend the proposals after it was met with disbelief from concerned residents.

Former city councillor Nick Eden-Green, who lives in the park, has objected to the application, branding the plans “extremely intrusive and disturbing”.

“The gardens are gravely damaged during these events. The grass and flowerbeds take months to recover, if indeed they recover at all,” he said.

Fellow resident Glenn Bowman has described Mr Blackmore’s licensing bid as “outrageous”.

“There is no detail in his application of what the events will be - perhaps Tantric Buddhist naked drumming,” he said.

“In effect, [the organiser is] asking for 16 days of shutting the park down to Canterbury residents for 12 hours each day so he can make money. I deeply object.”