A four-day festival has been thrown into doubt after councillors turned down the plans amid police fears.

Stardust Festivals Ltd has been selling tickets to the event at the Great Lines Heritage Park in Gillingham which had been planned to take place over the bank holiday weekend at the end of May.

The largest of the events – called Dream Valley on Saturday, May 27 – was due to host 25,000 people. Another one, planned for Friday, May 26, was due to be headlined by Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins.

But Medway Council's licensing hearing panel decided it had too many concerns around public safety and the "nuisance" the events could cause residents if allowed to go ahead – a decision festival organisers say they are appealing.

The panel met again last Monday, having previously met last month.

During both meetings, Kent Police made it clear they had a number of concerns about the proposed location of the festival and the impact festival-goers would have on the town.

Stardust Festivals was also criticised for not finalising all of its transport plans; for the Saturday gig, buses were planned to arrive from multiple locations across the south east, and via a shuttle bus service from the O2 in Greenwich.

The organisers were also planning a number of park and ride locations across Medway.

Last week, Kent Police's barrister Stuart Jessop said he was not satisfied with the level of detail provided in the event plans, saying, "It's all a little bit too late and unfinished."

In a previous meeting, the force raised concerns about the Dream Valley gathering which was held last year at Lydd Airport near Ashford and hosted by Stardust Festivals, saying there had been issues with drug taking.

The panel's decision – which was taken in private and published on Monday – reads: "The panel considered that such a large-scale event over four days would have a negative effect on the local community, especially given the proposed volume of attendees, which would likely impact the transport services in the Medway area."

The decision goes on to say how councillors were concerned about the number of proposed road closures and how much traffic the events would generate, concluding: "The panel deemed the event could pose a detriment to the daily lives of local residents and businesses which could suffer a loss of trade."

Earlier this month, Medway cabinet members gave their backing to the festival, giving permission to hire out the park to Stardust Festivals, despite the fact the licensing panel had not yet come to a decision.

A spokesman for Stardust Festivals said: “The Great Lines Great Music Weekend is not cancelled.

"Following the decision made by the licensing sub-committee, we are appealing the licence application decision.

"We continue to work alongside Medway Council and all stakeholders in planning on a daily basis and look forward to delivering our events in the area.”