Balloonists given green light for new festival

The Snake Meadows Festival is named after Bath Hot Air Balloon Club's Slither the Snake balloon

A group of hot air balloonists have been granted permission to host a new festival.

The first Snake Meadows Festival is due to be held in a field on the edge of the village of Saltford, near Bath, Somerset, on 19 July.

The event will feature hot air balloon flights as well as live performances by tribute acts to performers including Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa and Taylor Swift

Bath and North East Somerset Council agreed to give a licence to Bath Hot Air Balloon Club to host the festival, despite opposition from Saltford Parish Council.

Bath Hot Air Balloon Club is a not-for-profit organisation which raises money for charities including Suicide Prevention UK and Saltford Primary School.

It has been based at Snake Meadows since January 2024, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The club's Andy Morse said: "We are all about bringing the young generation, the new generation into hot air ballooning which has been seen as quite an expensive sport."

Adrian Connor (L) and Jerry Davis (R) of Bath Hot Air Balloon Club

The club had faced opposition from the parish council over concerns that the site entrance was too narrow.

It said it could lead to nuisance parking and difficulty evacuating the site if necessary.

In response, Mr Morse said that the club had an emergency services plan in place and would hire professional security

The club also agreed to reduce visitor numbers from 2,000 to 1,200 in light of the objections.

Jerry Davis, from Bath Hot Air Balloon Club, said: "We have been fighting the parish council for 12 months on this. Now we can move forward."