A new comedy festival will no longer take place at Promenade Park, Maldon District Council (MDC) has announced.

An MDC spokesperson said that Essex Fest, which was due to take place on Friday 20 August at the Prom, does not have any of the required permissions for the event to take place at the park despite selling tickets.

The spokesperson said: "Maldon District Council appreciates the difficulties facing the Events Industry as they begin to adapt to new social conditions, as we emerge from lockdown and Covid restrictions are eased.

"Whilst this has made planning large scale events difficult, event organisers are still required to take all practicable steps to ensure their events are safe for the public, their staff and contractors.

"As such, all large scale public events are scrutinised by the Maldon Districts Safety Advisory Group, made up of the Police, Essex Ambulance and Council safety advisors, whose focus it is to review the Event Organisers plans and provide advice and support."

The spokesperson added: "The Maldon Districts Safety Advisory Group has repeatedly requested information from the Event Organiser regarding this particular event, as a number of important documents remain outstanding or fail to provide the necessary assurance of safety for those frequenting or working at the event.

"Anyone who has ticketing enquiries should contact the event organiser on 0203 603 7923 or email [email protected]."

A spokesperson for Essex Fest said that the event will be relocated.

In a statement on Facebook, the spokesperson said: "It is with deep regret that, due to the current climate and issues beyond our control, the Essex Comedy Festival on Friday 20th August will be relocated and no longer held at Maldon Promenade Park.

"We will be relocating the festival to a new site and all ticket holders will be notified of the new address within the next few hours.

"Our industry has been hit so hard and we would ask you to support us by joining us at the new venue.

"We thank you for your support and we look forward to seeing you on Friday."

Among the acts set to perform at the festival are Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, Milton Jones, Shappi Khorsandi's Cafe, Andrew Maxwell, Simon Brodkin and Glenn Wool.