The first outdoor mela to be organised by the Swindon Bangladeshi Association will go ahead this month.

But the organisers will have to put on litter picks at the venue and the surrounding streets afterwards and control the sale of alcohol.

The community group had applied for a licence from Swindon Borough Council to use Great Western park in Faringdon Road as a venue for the celebration of the Bengali New Year on Sunday April 14.

The group wants to be able to sell alcohol and food at the event and put on musical, dance and dramatic performances, as well as screen films, all of which need a licence.

But Abdul Amin, a borough councillor who was attending as one of the organisers of the mela had to give assurances to a licensing panel set up to consider the application after an objection by nearby residents and initially Wiltshire Police, although that was dropped before the meeting.

Hugh Green, who lives yards from the park said: “We have real problems with organised events in the park, especially with the sale of alcohol.

"We have people urinating in our gardens and suffer anti-social behaviour. The litter in the streets nearby is also very bad after events.”

It was pointed out that the Bangladeshi Association had never put on an event in the park before.

Mr Amin said the association would control access to the park, and would control access to the bar, limiting it to 150 people at a time.

He offered to extend the plan for have members picking up litter in the park afterwards to the neighbouring streets.

He said: “We want to be good neighbours and I invite Mr Green and the other objector to come to the mela and enjoy a great day out in aid of the Mayor’s charities. I will be on site all day and will be able to address any issues that occur.”

The licence was granted with the sale of alcohol stopping at 7.30pm before the event closes at 8pm.