Essex Fest has been postponed, after Maldon District Council (MDC) announced that it could not take place at Promenade Park this Friday.

Among the acts set to perform at the new comedy festival, which was scheduled for Friday 20 August, are Frankie Boyle, Sara Pascoe, Milton Jones, Shappi Khorsandi's Cafe, Andrew Maxwell, Simon Brodkin and Glenn Wool.

MDC announced earlier today that the festival would no longer take place at the Prom because organisers did not have the required permissions for the event to take place at the park despite selling tickets.

In a statement on Facebook, a spokesperson for Essex Fest 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 is postponed and will be rescheduled to a new date.

"We tried to relocate the venue but it was too short notice in a pandemic to apply for a premises licence to serve alcohol as we wanted to provide a full package for spectators to enjoy.

"This is devastating not only to us but to you too, especially as we've all waited so long to finally get back together.

"We have been working with our artists, suppliers and partners to deliver a spectacular comedy event with headline comedians and we share your disappointment.

"While this has been hard to process we want to commit now to create an even bigger comedy festival and we can now confirm the event will be rescheduled to a new date and venue in close proximity which will be confirmed in the next coming days.

"The events industry has been hit so hard and we would ask you to please support us and the comedians by joining us in 2022 as all tickets will automatically be rolled over."

Earlier today, an MDC 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."

To find out more information on the festival, you can visit its Facebook page using the link here.