A FREE music festival could be staged in Mayflower Park this summer if council bosses give it the go-ahead.

Organised by two Southampton students, Mark Dunk and Holly Barnes-Thomas, the Access Festival could become an annual event.

If approved, the festival will be staged on Saturday, May 21, and will feature music performed by local, unsigned artists and bands as well as more well-known acts yet to be confirmed.

An audience of 2,000 is expected to attend the festival, which is intended to promote local music while raising funds for Southampton homelessness charity The Society of St James.

The organisers have been in consultation with Southampton City Council's events department.

They hope to have all the paperwork agreed and signed by the end of March and will then confirm the line-up.

The Access Festival was last held on a smaller scale at Palmerstone Park's bandstand on August 20.

The success of this event was the catalyst for the more ambitious plans for the 2005 festival.

"The wealth of support and enthusiasm that we received from the performers and audience last year encouraged us to believe that we could make the Access Festival a much bigger event," said Holly Barnes-Thomas, 23, who is studying media and cultural studies at Southampton Institute.

"We are really looking forward to announcing this year's line-up, which should include some well-known names."

Mark Dunk, 24, is studying animation.

"The idea just developed," he said.

"We already have two local bands lined up, Smerins Anti Social Club and Fleeing New York.

"We chose the Society of St James because we wanted to do something for homeless people as that is how we started last year, by staging a concert for homeless people."

A spokesman for Southampton City Council confirmed that its events team had met with the Access Festival organisers.

"No permission has been granted as yet," he said.

"They took the forms but they have not yet been returned.

"When we receive them a decision will be made."