FINE FOR ORGANISER OF ILLEGAL RAVE AT ST. NICHOLAS

The organiser of an illegal rave at St. Nicholas-at-Wade has been fined £500 and ordered to pay costs of £150 to the council.

Joshua Medley (23) from Princes Park Avenue in Hayes, Middlesex, who was originally from Margate, pleaded guilty to carrying out a licensable activity, the playing of recorded music, without authorisation, when he appeared before magistrates in Canterbury.

The rave was held on the night of Friday 30 September, going into Saturday 1 October 2011. The police received a number of complaints from members of the public about loud recorded music being played and youths gathered in fields close to the Thanet Way. The farm manager at St. Nicholas Court Farm confirmed that no-one had permission to use the fields for a rave and that bonfires, which had been lit, were not permitted either.

Police visited the site just after 8.00 am on the morning of Saturday 1 October and asked the DJ to turn the music off. At first, he refused, before turning it down. However, it was then put back to full volume. He was asked again to turn it down and again, he refused. At this point, the police unplugged the equipment.

More than 60 people were on site at the time, who were advised to leave, which they eventually did. At this point, a man, who later identified himself as Joshua Medley, was packing up the audio equipment. He confirmed that he was the organiser of the rave, that it was not a licensed event and that he did not have the permission of the land owner, because he believed it was common land.

He told police that he was going to university to study music and the rave had been a goodbye party for him. He estimated that he had spent around £400 on organising it. The audio equipment was seized by the police. As it was a licensing issue, the case was passed to Thanet District Council’s licensing department to prosecute.

Cllr. Chris Wells, Cabinet Member for Community Services, said: “Holding an illegal rave is a serious offence, with a maximum possible sentence of up to a £20,000 fine or six months’ imprisonment. This clearly wasn’t common land, as the defendant claimed, a point made during the court case, with the magistrates pointing out that hay bales are rarely left on common land. Anyone thinking of holding any event should always make sure that they have the correct licences for it and if they don’t, then they do risk facing the full wrath of the law.”