EASTNOR Castle will once again be the focal point for festival goers, three years after the Big Chill festival last played out in its grounds.

Directors of Lakefest, a festival held at Croft Farm Waterpark in Gloucestershire since 2011, announced this week that the festival would be moving in 2016 to the grounds of Eastnor Castle.

Due to the rising popularity of the festival — which last weekend saw acts such as Embrace, Ash, New Model Army and the Cheeky Girls perform — directors decided a bigger venue was needed for next year's event.

The castle previously hosted the Big Chill, and saw a number of big names — including Leonard Cohen, Lily Allen and Kanye West — play during its ten year history.

Although Festival Republic, the team behind the Big Chill, have previously not commented on the long-term plans for the festival, there has been no word of its return and Lakefest organisers said this move is "in no way an attempt to replicate the Big Chill".

Lee Martin, Lakefest director, said: “We are delighted to be able to share this exciting news. We have some amazing memories of the past four years at Croft Farm Waterpark, but the festival has evolved and we now need to expand to a much larger location. We are so grateful to have such loyal attendees, who have been with us since day one, and although we are on the move, the team of directors will remain in place, still delivering their same passion for music and bringing you a family-friendly festival to remember."

David Littlewood, the general manager of Eastnor Castle, said he is "excited" about next year's event.

"We are very proud of our reputation as a family-friendly place to visit and therefore the prospect of having such a successful, family friendly festival really complements what we do at the castle.

"I was at Lakefest last weekend and having seen it for my own eyes can see how well it will fit into the Deer Park. Some people are already making comments that it is replacing the Big Chill but I can assure anyone concerned it definitely isn't. The thing that makes Lakefest so successful is its family vibe and the fact that it isn't a huge festival. My understanding is that there are no plans to grow it substantially and we certainly haven't discussed anything like the amount of land that the Big Chill used to occupy".