A SUMMER pop festival is to be held on the banks of the River Wear in Chester-le-Street.

A Yorkshire company plans to stage a tribute band event in a marquee near Durham County Cricket Club on the town’s Riverside complex.

The 12-hour event will run until midnight on Saturday, August 3, a week before the ground is in the spotlight with the England v Australia Ashes game.

Doncaster-based Fake Festivals, which has staged similar events in other parts of the country, is planning a bill that so far includes acts dedicated to the music of Coldplay, Kings of Leon and The Killers.

The marquee, which will have capacity for 1,000 people, will be inside a fenced compound and qualified security staff will been duty.

There will be a licensed bar and refreshment stalls in the compound.

The firm’s licence application met with initial objections from the police and Anna Lynch, Durham County Council’s director of public health.

They voiced concerns about under-18s getting hold of drink, either at the event or by pre-loading and that trouble could break out. They said they believed that licensing objectives about protecting children from harm and preventing crime and disorder may not be met.

But Durham County Council’s licensing sub-committee will hear on Tuesday April 9 that following mediation between the police and the firm, additional licence conditions have been agreed.

These include refusing entry to anyone who appears to be drunk and operating Challenge 25 to ensure under-age gig-goers do not buy drink.

Jeremy Lee, of Fake Festivals, says in a submission to the council, that the festival is part of a tour that will include a date at Tynemouth