THE cancellation of this year’s Big Chill festival has been met with disappointment from councillors and traders.

In a statement on the festival’s website yesterday, Melvin Benn, managing director of Festival Republic which has organised the event since 2010, blamed the London Olympics, a lack of an alternative date and a lack of artist availability.

Mr Benn said: “It is with a considerable amount of regret that I have decided not to go ahead with the Big Chill in 2012. I looked long and hard late last year at moving the date so it didn’t clash with the Olympics but the mix of the festival fans desire to keep the date and an inability to find an alternative date that works, I plumped for maintaining the existing weekend.

“Sadly, the artist availability and confirmations we were achieving led me to conclude that I couldn’t risk going ahead with the event as an outdoor event this year.”

“Efforts are being made to look to bring a smaller event indoors this year with the anticipation of Big Chill being back outdoors in 2013.”

Mayor of Ledbury Allen Conway said: “I can’t understand the logic of cancelling it because of the Olympics. I would not have thought the people that go there would go to the Olympics. It will affect us without a shadow of a doubt.”

Annette Crowe, of the Traders of Ledbury Association, said: “It’s very disappointing. The town has worked well with James Hervey- Bathurst when they have held the Big Chill in the past and we hope to do so in the future. I hope this is just a blip caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the Olympics.”

Despite the disappointment, David Littlewood, general manager of Eastnor Castle, said talks between James Hervey-Bathurst and Mr Benn suggested the festival was likely to return to the venue in 2013.

“It’s disappointing for this year but hopefully they will be back next year. It definitely benefits not just us but the local tourism, trade and businesses.”

The Big Chill has been held at Eastnor Castle’s deer park, near Ledbury, for more than a decade and last year’s festival was headlined by the Chemical Brothers and Kanye West.