Neighbours lose licensing battle with Newbury school

St Bartholomew's School has been granted a permanent licence for regulated entertainment on the premises

NEIGHBOURS of a Newbury secondary school have lost their battle to stop the school permanently becoming a licensed entertainment venue.

On Monday (July 18), West Berkshire Council's licensing sub-committee met to discuss an application from St Bartholomew's School in Andover Road to provide regulated entertainment and entertainment facilities, and the supply of alcohol, from Sundays to Thursdays between 7am and 10pm, and also for the same licence between 7am and 11pm on Friday and Saturday.

Yesterday (Thursday) it was announced that the committee had granted the licence, which applies to such events as plays, films, indoor sporting events, live and recorded music and performances of dance.

However, the decision comes despite fierce criticism from several nearby residents, many of whom claimed there would be excessive noise disturbance, increased traffic and potential bad behaviour in a traditionally quiet residential area.

At the hearing earlier this week the school's deputy headteacher, Maureen Sims, said there would essentially be no change for the school from the application.

She added that the purpose of it was to reduce the need for about 12 separate event applications throughout the year.

Currently, the school hosts a number of functions, meetings and events, including cheese and wine evenings for governors and events for such outside organisations as the Minority Ethnic Forum and the Newbury Choral Society.

But Mike Samuels, of Bartlemy Road, Newbury, said it was “disingenuous” to suggest there was no change as the new £32m buildings were arranged around a central (indoor/outdoor) hub space, which he claimed led to a significant increase in noise, particularly from concerts, with local resident David Sanders likening the noise levels at a recent classical concert to the sound levels at a busy day at Northcroft swimming pool.

Mr Sanders claimed that the application would knock thousands of pounds off the value of his property if it was approved, while Anne Stead, of Mayfair Drive, said it would make it too easy for the school to accept every event booking regardless of suitability.

However, Mrs Sims refuted the claim, adding that the school always looked at applications to use its facilities in a moral context.

She said: “We have always been a school that works with the community and our wish is to continue to do that.

“The school's reputation is positive and we want that to remain the case.

“We want to look after our new site and we want to continue to be a good neighbour.”

Mrs Sims also added that while alcohol may be served on some occasions, it was incidental to the overall application, adding that she did not envisage groups of people behaving irresponsibly as a result of excessive alcohol consumption.

Despite the licence being granted, several conditions have been imposed that prevent boxing or wrestling events being held at the school and prevent any outdoor events between October 1 and March 31, while a further requirement is for the school to monitor noise levels at permitted events.