Street bars could turn a family-friendly festival into a “drunken filthy orgy”, neighbours fear.
Neighbours and Sussex Police are opposing a licence bid by Kemp Town Carnival for six or seven bars outside pubs between Upper Rock Gardens and Eaton Place during the event on Saturday 1 June.
Three objections have been sent to Brighton and Hove City Council’s licensing team as well as seven letters of support from residents, arts organisations, a church and bar.
The application is for a licence to sell alcohol from 10am to 6pm and have performances and live music in the area.
In a letter of objection Caroline and Malcolm Walker raised concerns about excessive drinking, noise and anti-social behaviour.
They said: “This would no longer be a ‘village carnival’ with tables in the street attitude as it used to be but a big roaring uncouth drunken excuse for a weekend.
“Let is stay exclusively in the village area and please control the excessive drinking.
“Don’t let it become the drunken filthy orgy the Pride weekend has become in St James’s Street.”
They said that the last carnival three years ago spread up the Rock Gardens crossroads giving a “good example of how things had started to go wrong”.
Another neighbour Hector Ktorides also raised concern about the number of toilets, particularly as portable loos outside his home overflowed. He described the carnival as a “victim of its own success”.
Mr Ktorides said: “The organisers hijack the area totally dismissing the needs and the voice of the people that live in the midst of it all, ignoring the concerns of locals and doing as they please.
“I can no longer see how the carnival is of benefit to the local community and the event has become a lot to ask for the residents to tolerate.”
Sussex Police is also concerned about the size of the area covered by the licence and whether off-sales would be included.
Chief Inspector Di Lewis said: “The footprint of the event is far bigger when comparing it to the fully fenced-in Pride Village Party.
“Sussex Police are not convinced the the event organiser’s will be able to exercise any degree of control over it.”
