Hop Farm Festival Wins Appeal To Increase Capacity

The Hop Farm Festival has won an appeal to expand the event's capacity in 2009, organisers have revealed.

The annual event in Kent will now welcome 53,000 festivalgoers – 23,000 more than in 2008.

A magistrates court rejected an initial application to expand the festival last November because the committee felt that organisers hadn't supplied enough information about proposed traffic plans and security.

But, at an appeal earlier this week, organisers were given permission to raise the capacity from 30,000 to 53,000.

Festival organiser Vince Power said after the initial rejection that he was “confident” the event could win an appeal to expand.

This year's festival will take place from July 3rd-5th. Line-up details are due to be announced shortly.

The 2008 Hop Farm festival featured performances from Supergrass and Neil Young. You can see highlights below.