Organisers of the popular Masked Ball events have withdrawn a licensing application to hold the Spring Ball at a new venue near Truro following complaints by residents.

The dance event, which was last held on the cliffs at Porthleven in 2019, was due to take place over four days across the first weekend of May at the Killiow Estate at Playing Place near Truro.

An application for a premises licence was to be held at Cornwall Council tomorrow (Wednesday, March 6) but the organisers have pulled it due to the concerns raised not only by locals but Devon and Cornwall Police and an officer from the council’s environmental protection officer.

Kelvin Batt, who originated the popular masked balls including the Halloween Masked Ball at Flambards in Helston, said: “We are withdrawing from this application in light of the many objections from residents on the estate. We feel that whilst we have attempted to reach an agreement with the residents to mitigate their concerns with reasonable conditions, we have been unable to reach a resolution that would allow this type of event to deliver to the expectations of the attendees.

“In light of this we wish to withdraw the application and we will look forward to working with the estate owners and residents to find a suitable time and type of event that will operate successfully at the venue in the future.”

He told CornwallLive it was now too late to find an alternative site for a Spring Ball this year, adding: “It’s with huge disappointment that we have to say we can’t do the ball this year … we’ve tried our best to make it happen but the gods have determined we can’t have our dance.

“Come on Cornwall, the creative juices here are strong and should be supported, not strangled. Anyway, Halloween is ON – it’s our tenth Halloween anniversary, so look out. Spring will be back … we’ve just got to find a worthwhile spot.”

Home Farm Estate Residents’ Association, which includes people living at Killiow, had objected to the event taking place.

In a letter to the council’s licensing department, a number of members of the community group aired their concerns about ball-goers wandering on to their properties. “This is already creating considerable anxiety about how safe we will be, especially given the age profile of our residents, with the majority being over 70. How will we be protected and supported, particularly in the small hours?”

They were also concerned about possible damage to woodland on the site, the close proximity to the A39 and, above all, the effects of noise.

A police spokesperson said Killiow was the “wrong location” for the ball, raising concerns about traffic and noise.

“Our major concern is that this event will have a significant detrimental effect on nearby residential properties because there are a lot in close proximity to the proposed location of the festival, ” wrote the council’s environmental protection officer. “There are numerous properties in Playing Place, Kea and particularly on the Killiow Estate land close to the proposed location of the event. The noise management plan has recommended noise limits but we do not agree that these will adequately protect the closest neighbours to the event location.

“At some locations surrounding this proposed event there will be very little respite from the noise, even within the proposed noise limits, in our professional opinion and experience.”