A LIVE music festival at Halton Castle in Runcorn has been cancelled only weeks before it was due to take place.

Castle Calling was due to take place between June 29 to June 30 this year, after the event was deemed a huge success in 2023.

Andy Salter, who organises the event, was looking forward to welcoming people back to the festival this year, after the new team at Halton Castle approached him to organise the event.

But the event has since been cancelled, as the relevant council application forms to allow the festival to go ahead were not submitted in time.

Around 850 tickets were available for people to attend the event, and a variety of acts were set to perform – including Aziz Ibrahim, former guitarist for Simply Red and The Sone Roses, and Syfta, a band from Halton.

The cancellation was announced on the Castle Calling Facebook page on Thursday, May 2.

“After a meeting last night, it has become clear that we cannot run Castle Calling Festival again this year and meet the desired council guidelines and applications to make it what we want in time,” the post read.

“Last year was fantastic! So, with the change of management at the venue and their enthusiasm, I felt positive that we could make it even bigger and better this time.

“Any ticket sales should have been refunded within the last 24 hours.

“Apologies to all the acts, labels, managers, volunteers, and supporters involved.

“Maybe we will see you next year.”