Derek vows to fight on for his right to party
THE organiser of a Halloween party fundraiser has withdrawn his application to hold a rave – but insists an event is still on the cards.
As reported in yesterday’s Echo, Derek Milligan was planning to hold the Halloweenthemed event at his indoor skatepark in Pallion at the end of the month to raise money for the not- for- profit facility.
Sunderland City Council’s licensing subcommittee had been due to hear objections from the police and environmental health, after Derek submitted a temporary event notice ( TEN) for October 31.
But before the meeting could be held, Derek, 33, who owns Dockside Skatepark in Woodbine Terrace, withdrew the TEN as he felt he needed more time to prepare.
Derek, of South Shields, has now tweaked his TEN and resubmitted it. The changes include a name change – calling it a house techno night instead of a rave – and increasing capacity from 170 to 220 people.
“I had Northumbria Police, environmental health and the fire service here,” he said.
“The place has been transformed and I think they were impressed with what they saw. But I want to make sure everything is ready, that’s why I withdrew it.
“I’m not going to back down. We are trying to make it a good venue and a safe venue.
“There is no financial gain to this, it is simply to raise funds so the kids have somewhere to go.”