People attending this year’s Winter Droving festival in Penrith will not be able to get into the spirit with a glass of mulled wine, after Eden Council licensing offers have banned its sale.
Many visitors to the annual spectacle have enjoyed a glass of the traditional tipple, with some saying it adds to the atmosphere and ambience of the festival.
However, the introduction of a licensing order, banning the consumption of alcohol on the streets of Penrith, has stopped its sale at this year’s event.
Dan Harding, who owns Foundry 34 in Penrith, has in previous years run a stall selling the warming beverage.
“I have no issue with the order in normal circumstances; it’s to stop kids drinking in the streets and for policing it works,” he said, adding that in previous years Eden’s licensing officers had ‘let it slide’, but this year they were applying the order ‘to the book’, meaning the drink is banned.
A spokesman for Eden council said: “Public Space Protection Orders (PSPOs), which prohibit the consumption of alcohol from open containers in the street, were introduced in 2018.
“A decision not to enforce these orders was taken for the 2019 Winter Droving and there was no event in 2020, due to COVID-19 restrictions.”
The orders were renewed in May and after consulting with police, Penrith BID and Eden Arts, a decision was taken that, for the consistent application of the orders across the district, the restrictions would be enforced this year.
