Pinchington licence refused
Victory for neighbouring residents, but venue owner vows to appeal decision
PINCHINGTON Hall will not be permitted to hold licensed events following a premises licence inquiry prompted by nearby residents.
The venue was denied a change of use action in September, from residential to a wedding venue.
The refusal, from West Berkshire Council, was on the basis that the hall is not “compatible” with the location, as the building neighbours multiple residential properties.
Since then the hall has not been able to hold licensed events at its premises.
However, residents near the property lodged complaints over noise disturbances from alleged late-night parties and antisocial behaviour from guests – for which a noise abatement order was served on the hall.
The review was then sought on the grounds of the “undermining of the licensing objectives” of the following key issues: The prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.
The meeting was also attended by Thatcham councillor Simon Pike (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) and a written piece was provided by Thatcham mayor John Boyd, who was unable to attend.
The inquiry, to the relief of the residents, ruled that the hall will not be permitted to hold these events in the future, something
that Thatcham Town Council vocally supported.
Phoenix Apartments director Linda Beechey-Smith said that the entire situation was “beyond the pale”.
She said: “They’ve revoked a licence that has never operated. I don’t know what to say anymore.
“It’s the same people that made a nuisance.
“They had taken a noise abatement notice, following that they then, the same people, set out at having my licence revoked – which it was.”
She said it was a case of “the strongest person shouting the loudest”.
The hall is situated opposite Thornford Park psychiatric hospital, but Mrs Beechey-Smith said that the premises has had no complaints, “no traffic or noise or rowdy behaviour” from the institution.
Thatcham mayor John Boyd said that he had “several conversations” with a local resident who said his concerns were “dismissed” when the hall was granted its licence at an initial hearing, last year.
Mr Boyd said, although the hall’s owners didn’t use this licence, they were still “using it as a party-style venue”, which led to the reported disruptions.
He said: “It’s the fact that locals living further away were being disturbed – we can only imagine what it would had been like if it remained as a party-style venue now that there are residents living closer to the building.”
He added: “The residents got all the incidents recorded, the people from environmental health were on board, it was just amazing to see them all supported.
“It’s encouraging for me to see how proactive the residents were being about this.”
Mrs Beechey-Smith said that she is going to appeal the decision.
“We have never held a licensable event,” she said. “I am going to appeal it.
“I am appealing that and the noise abatement notice.
“I can’t use the licence until I have the correct planning, we would like both, to operate with the right parameters. I am trying.”
She said that the number of incidents brought up in resident objections was “nonsense” and stated that coronavirus pandemic restricted the use of the house.
“We have only been able to hold events when Covid permitted,” she said.
“A complaint was made that I was in breach, but the police came and said I was not in any breach of Covid restrictions.”
She said: “We didn’t step out of line. What do they want to happen to this house then? It’s a beautiful building.
“We are fighting on.”