Fury at ‘disgraceful drunkenness’

The aftermath of a New Year’s Eve bash in Canterbury not only left party-goers with sore heads - but neighbours too.

The chairman of St Peter’s Residents Association Richard Parkinson claims drunken revellers from the Ministry of Sound event at the Westgate Hall had “total disregard” for people living nearby in the early hours.

Now, he has written to the chief executive of the Westgate Community Trust, which runs the hall, to complain.

Mr Parkinson is a former trustee of the hall but resigned in 2014 in protest at the kind of bookings which were being invited and accepted because of the effect on the neighbourhood.

Now, in a strongly-worded email to chief executive Clare Millett, he says: “The disgraceful drunkenness of those who attended the event at the community hall was with total disregard to the residential area.

“When I and others created this community hall, it was certainly not for the intention of drunkenness and urination.”

But Mrs Millett defended the hall, saying trustees had gone to great lengths to advise neighbours about the event and even offered them tickets.

She insists it was carefully planned and responsibly run with a respected security firm and the only complaint received was from Mr Parkinson.

He claims the doors were opened at 3.30am to allow “all to leave and vomit, urinate and make considerable disturbance”.

“Wheelie bins were used as items to use to charge each other, doorways used for a purposes I prefer to not mention and there were extremely drunk young girls unable to walk,” he said.

He added: “As a founder member, I worked my life off to have this hall for the use of the commu- nity. Now it’s become a greedy, drink-swilling, debauched student non-community venue.”

Mrs Millett said: “Events like the Ministry of Sound make up a very small element of what is on offer at the hall but bring in vital funds to ensure we can continue to provide important facilities for the community.”

She strongly disputed the accusation that it had become a “non-community” venue, adding that dozens of charities, small traders and groups use it.