A house music festival will be allowed to admit thousands more people – despite residents’ fears over crime and antisocial behaviour.

51st State Festival, which has been held in Trent Park, Cockfosters for the past four years, will now be allowed to attract crowds of up 17,500 people.

The festival started out with a maximum crowd size of 10,000 in 2015 and was gradually allowed to expand to 15,500 last year.

Billed as a celebration of the roots of house music – including garage, disco, soul and dub – it will be held on Saturday, August 3 this year.

On Wednesday (June 19), a licensing committee agreed to raise the capacity further after the operator Mad Husky Events assured councillors there would be enough police and security staff to deal with the crowds.

But co-chairman of Cockfosters Local Area Residents’ Association Colin Bull warned the council was taking an “unacceptable risk”.

Mr Bull claimed previous events had led to drug use, drunkenness and people urinating in the street, and he said police would not be able to cope if there was a major disturbance.

He said: “This is an event where people drink for eleven hours – but they often ‘pre-load’ with drink. It is quite a toxic combination.

“There is a light touch employed. We see lots of illegal behaviour.

“If anything goes on – like people attacking staff in mini-markets – the police do not get involved and turn a blind eye. It paralyses their resources if they take action.

“We think the council’s philosophy should change. We would like you to seriously think about the way these events are managed.

“I want it on record that the council are taking an unacceptable risk here. Things have not gone wrong – but they might very well do.”

The licensing committee received 16 objections to the plans, with noise, travel disruption and the potential for damage to the park featuring alongside worries over crime and anti-social behaviour.

The Friends of Trent Country Park refused to attend the meeting in protest at what they claimed was Enfield Council’s failure to represent the views of people opposed to the “commercialisation” of the park.

But the council also received five letters in support of the event – including one from a Cockfosters resident of 20 years who had initially been sceptical but went along and “thoroughly enjoyed myself”.

Security will be enforced by 18 police officers, one inspector and three sergeants.

There will also be 221 private security personnel monitoring crowds, with another 56 at the bars.

Mad Husky Events’ representative Ms Naqshbandi told the committee: “The Metropolitan Police are not here objecting today. They have asked for the level of policing given, and we have gone over and above the guidance.

“The guidance is one security officer per 100 people – we have one per 60 people.”

Councillors agreed to grant a licence for the festival after adding a condition to ensure roads that had previously been affected by anti-social behaviour were assigned dedicated security officers.

51st State will be a two-day event in future years, subject to review.