Bexley (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Owners of a Sidcup farm and events venue say they’re being unfairly targeted, rejecting a Bexley councillor’s claims that they are “wholly untrustworthy.”
When Beck Evans Farm applied for a license to hold a music event earlier this year, the locals took issue.
The dread of “utter lawlessness and debauchery” and antisocial behavior that had taken place outside of past gatherings was shared by the neighbors. The license application was also challenged by the Environmental Health and Licensing departments of Bexley Council. The farm responded by reducing its plans and delaying the July celebration.
On September 20, Becksfest took place, and the Evans family, who own the farm, reports that the family-oriented celebration was a huge success with no antisocial issues.
Nicola Evans said:
“It was a nice day. Everyone came together and enjoyed themselves. There were no issues that day as it was a family day, all families coming together to listen to music.”
Following criticism over the farm’s broadcast of last year’s UEFA Euro final, the Evans family feels they have made the required actions to clean up the farm’s act and mend relations with the community.
In addition to hiring a new management, they reported that they were listening to the worries of the neighbors and considering possible planning applications at the farm with the North Cray Residents Association.
The family still believes that the farm’s reputation has been unfairly damaged by previous errors, even after taking these actions. According to Nicola, the farm and Bexley Council were beginning to improve their relationship. Since the beginning of July, the venue has not been visited by a member of the council’s Environmental Health team or received any noise complaints.
They say they have also reached out to nearby residents who opposed their licensing application, but they haven’t engaged in mediation talks yet. Nicola added:
“We’ve tried to have a mediation and they’ve refused it. The police have been round there several times and asked if they would work with us rather than against us.”
Cllr Kurtis Christoforides objected to the initial music festival licensing application, calling the Evans family “wholly untrustworthy” and claiming that the farm was the “single largest consumer of council enforcement resources in the borough”.
Nicola didn’t understand why the councillor had called them untrustworthy, as she said they had never spoken in person.
“It’s probably because we’re car dealers and that’s what everyone thinks a car dealer is,”
she said.
Beck Evans sells used automobiles all around Kent and the South East. The Evans family started its car dealership in 1970. According to Nicola, in order to expand the family’s heritage beyond the automobile industry, her family purchased what would become Beck Evans Farm in 2019. Additionally, they intended to perform more good deeds in the community, such as hosting days for special education students, having the farm support neighborhood charities, and holding an armed forces day in June of next year.
They see the venue—which has a farm restaurant and deli—as a place for the community to meet, for families to come and for children to play, which is why they retained the farm’s soft play. The family also wanted to build an outdoor play area for kids but they had planning permission refused. Nicola added:
“It’s just a shame that certain things are stopping people coming together and bringing more to the local community.”
Cllr James Hunt has been helping the Evans family to try and improve the reputation of the farm. He said:
“As hard as they have worked to try and improve their reputation, they get attacked and it does have an impact. To be honest, they’ve been attacked about everything.”
According to Cllr Hunt, the family had engaged in some “brilliant” community service and was making every effort to address concerns and enhance its reputation. He also gave the farm and Becksfest’s “unique” location high marks.
He said:
“This is unique. There’s a soft play, restaurant, bar, events space, lavender fields, pumpkins. They employ a hundred staff from the local community. Becksfest was a brilliant community day. More of that is what we need in this borough.”
What are the key highlights from the controversy?
The farm applied for a premises licence to enable it to hold a music festival at the site (Becksfest) and sought permissions to play music, sell alcohol, and open late. This application followed previous events at the site, which led to public complaints about anti-social behaviour.
Residents recounted previous events at the venue as days of “utter lawlessness and debauchery,” specifically referring to public urination, drug use, excessive drinking, swearing, and fighting happening on and off the farm.
Councillor Christoforides criticized the farm for its use of council regulatory and enforcement resources, for having a history of unsuccessful planning applications and appeals, and for behaving in a manner which, in his opinion, indicated an indifference to residents, the laws, and reasonable behaviour in a semi-rural location.