Eavis: Hostage to fortune

Were I a voter in Mendip District, or, indeed, a councilor, I might take a very dim view indeed of Michael Eavis claiming that there was no way Glastonbury would ever not get a licence:

"The local economy gets £100m a year", he told Radio 4's Desert Island Discs.

"So there's no discussion about not allowing the festival a licence any more. They won't stop it now."

Interesting that Glastonbury has come so far from its roots that Eavis can apparently only conceive that a planning decision would be taken on financial grounds alone. If nothing else, there might be a risk to the festival of local people keen to send a message that their decisions can't simply be bought by a large cheque.