A three-day music and dance festival will still go ahead despite being refused a premises licence amid fears over crime and disorder.

Organisers of Earthdance UK hoped to serve alcohol for 18 hours straight on day two of the event at Great Farthingloe Farm in Dover.

But the application was refused by Dover District Council's (DDC) licensing committee as members believed they did not have enough information to consider the request.

Rohan Scully, of organisers Unforeseen Productions, says the festival will still run under a temporary event notice (TEN), with restrictions on the hours alcohol can be served and the number of people allowed at the site.

He says he had applied for the licence because of changes to the times of the event on September 20 to 22 and alterations of the perimeter at the site off Folkestone Road.

Mr Scully will appeal DDC's decision but says he will continue to hold the gathering under the TEN until the new premises licence is secured.

The TEN permits up to 500 people to attend the event which is set to feature art exhibits and music acts from 13 countries.

The ticketed show, with camping for accommodation, will be linked to 82 countries in 11 time zones and stems from the United Nations’ International Day of Peace on Saturday, September 21.

Councillors heard how Mr Scully wanted to serve alcohol at the site on each day of the event, including from 10am on Saturday though to 4am on the Sunday.

But PC Danielle Rolfe, a licensing officer, told the DDC meeting how police were concerned about “crime and disorder and public safety”.

“Alcohol would be served for 14 hours on the Friday and 18 hours on the Saturday,” she said.

“That's a long time for people to consume alcohol.”

PC Rolfe said she was concerned there may be incidents such as drug overdoses and serious assaults at the site, but Mr Scully said there would be 15 door staff who could search for and confiscate any banned items.

He also stated the area would be secured with chain-link fencing and barbed wire and would be closed to new arrivals at 11.30pm.

But Karen Longley, a fire safety inspector for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said she believed the fire brigade had not been provided with enough information to make a judgement.

Mr Scully had told the sub-committee that the master file for the application had been corrupted on the computer, limiting what could be provided for the hearing.

Therefore an additional plan for a drive-in cinema over four weekends was scrapped to prevent delays in the Earthdance UK application.

If approved, there would have been three screenings a day during the August Bank Holiday break and other weekends up to September 14.

It would have been for 600 to 700 people at a time with 679 car spaces available in the main parking area, with shows ending by 11pm.

Mr Scully, who said applying for the premises licence was a “difficult and laborious process”, has been organising major entertainment events for 30 years.

His successes have included the Ska Splash Festival in Folkestone, with ska music bands, in the early 2010s.

But his planned music festival at Mermaid Beach in Folkestone was banned from taking place by the area’s district councillors as historic covenants on the land prevented such type of events taking place.