Residents living metres away from pop up venues in Valley Gardens say they will call for a review of the licence the council granted itself which allows them to open until 2am.
Brighton and Hove City Council’s outdoor events team applied to its licensing team in August 2020 for a licence for live performances and alcohol throughout Valley Gardens until 11pm.
But neither the posters which went up around the area nor the online licensing register included details of a seasonal variation, which extended those hours until 2am at weekends from late April to early June.
No valid objections were received, which meant the application was granted without going before councillors. Since then, the licence has been used to allow private companies to operate venues and bars on the council land.
Now, residents neighbouring the gardens say they intend to apply for a review of the licence after being subjected to late night noise for weeks at a time.
Maxine Horn, who lives just off Victoria Gardens where SpiegelGardens is being held this May, said: “This May we’ve found ourselves next to an open air bar up to 15 hours a day, seven days a week for 31 days straight – right in the heart of North Laine’s residential conservation area.
“There was no consultation whatsoever and residents are infuriated at the impact on sleep and well being.
“At the last outdoor events meeting, residents made themselves clear regarding the misuse of the licence, which is now being used for an unnecessary beer garden in favour of an exclusive alcohol provider.
“A review is exactly what needs to happen, with the hours and duration curtailed.”
Derek Wright, from Friends of Valley Gardens, agreed a review was necessary. He said: “An immediate review of the license variation is needed to take place as it was not properly scrutinised by the licensing committee.
“It also references North Steine Gardens which nobody has ever heard of before.
“The site sits in the council’s designated Alcohol Licensing Cumulative Impact Zone.”
At the last outdoor events meeting, held on Monday, 28 April at Ironworks, Green councillor Sue Shanks said she had not been aware the licence had been granted, despite usually being informed of applications made in the area.
She said: “I think the licence does need to be looked at. This is an impact zone, there’s not meant to be any new 2am licences.”
Her Green colleague Pete West said the wider issue of how the city’s parks are used should also be up for public discussion – rather than decided behind closed doors by the Labour administration.
He said: “These issues we are hearing about the number of events and how our green spaces are being used – the decisions about that are made by the Labour cabinet.”
Labour cabinet member Mitchie Alexander told the meeting she would feed back concerns to fellow Labour councillor and cabinet member for culture Birgit Miller.
She said: “Everything that’s been said will be fed back to her.”
Licence reviews can be called by councils, police or by local residents, on the grounds of prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance or protection of children from harm.
Questions over how the licence was originally advertised would not be grounds for a review.
So much dodgy behaviour connected to the Events Team. You don’t even have to dig much. The thing that shocked me the most was the fact that we rent our PUBLIC spaces to a small circle of promotors for 2-3 times less than any other city. We are basically giving away council property for ‘mates rates’. The most worrying thing is that the Events team told the Cabinet in November that we were among the most expensive cities…when according to their own information we are in fact the cheapest…and despite requests from residents to correct this error the cabinet refuses to do so. It seems they don’t want the fact to be public, that we give away our spaces for peanuts, at a time when we are raising council tax!
I was walking down there at 11pm last Saturday and it was loud. Not ear shattering but enough to keep you awake.
It stinks.
The North Laine and Valley Gardens is in the centre of a Cumulative Impact Zone…. how was a licence to 2am even possible in this location???
Someone slipped this one under the table? Or failed to scrutinise it properly?