Beck Evans Farm came under fire from nearby residents earlier this year when it sought a licence to host a music festival.
Neighbours feared “utter lawlessness and debauchery” and instances of antisocial behaviour that had occurred outside previous events.
Bexley Council’s Environmental Health and Licensing teams objected to the licence application as well. In response, the farm postponed the July festival and scaled down its proposals.
Becksfest went ahead on September 20, and according to the Evans family who own the farm, there were no antisocial problems at the family-focused festival and it was a great success.
Nicola Evans said: “It was a nice day. Everyone came together and enjoyed themselves. There were no issues that day as it was a family day, all families coming together to listen to music.”
The Evans family believe they have taken the necessary steps to clean up the farm’s act and repair relations with the community after problems related to the farm’s screening of last year’s UEFA Euro final brought them under fire.
They hired a new manager and said they were having positive discussions with the North Cray Residents Association, discussing potential planning applications at the farm and listening to the concerns of neighbours.
They say they have also reached out to nearby residents who opposed their licensing application, but they haven’t engaged in mediation talks yet.
Nicola added: “We’ve tried to have a mediation and they’ve refused it. The police have been round there several times and asked if they would work with us rather than against us.”
Despite taking these steps, the family still feels that past mistakes have unfairly tarred the farm’s reputation.
Nicola said the farm was starting to build a better relationship with Bexley Council and that the venue hadn’t received any noise complaints or been visited by a member of the council’s Environmental Health team since the beginning of July.
Cllr Kurtis Christoforides objected to the initial music festival licensing application, calling the Evans family “wholly untrustworthy” and claiming that the farm was the “single largest consumer of council enforcement resources in the borough”.
Nicola didn’t understand why the councillor had called them untrustworthy, as she said they had never spoken in person. “It’s probably because we’re car dealers and that’s what everyone thinks a car dealer is,” she said.
The Evans family set up their car dealing business in 1970, and Beck Evans sells used cars throughout Kent and the South East.
Nicola said that her family bought what would become Beck Evans Farm in 2019 to add to the family legacy outside of the car business.
They also wanted to do more positive things in the community, including having the farm support local charities, hosting days for SEN children and putting on an armed forces day next June.
They see the venue—which has a farm restaurant and deli—as a place for the community to meet, for families to come and for children to play, which is why they retained the farm’s soft play.
The family also wanted to build an outdoor play area for kids but they had planning permission refused. Nicola added: “It’s just a shame that certain things are stopping people coming together and bringing more to the local community.”
Cllr James Hunt has been helping the Evans family to try and improve the reputation of the farm.
He said: “As hard as they have worked to try and improve their reputation, they get attacked and it does have an impact. To be honest, they’ve been attacked about everything.”
Cllr Hunt said the family had undertaken some “brilliant” engagement with the community, and they were doing all they could to improve their image and respond to concerns.
He also praised the “unique” venue of the farm and Becksfest.
He said: “This is unique. There’s a soft play, restaurant, bar, events space, lavender fields, pumpkins.
“They employ a hundred staff from the local community. Becksfest was a brilliant community day. More of that is what we need in this borough.”
