Noise travelling up the hillside from St Peter’s Square, Brighton, has left a resident with anxiety at the thought of events popping up at any time.
Brighton and Hove City Council is in the process of seeking separate drinks licences for different sites along Valley Gardens. The decision is made by a council licensing panel.
Two hearings took place on Friday (6 February) – one for St Peter’s Square, south of St Peter’s Church, and one for the other side, known as St Peter’s North.
The council is not seeking a licence for a site known as Victoria Gardens North, where the Spiegelgarden was held last summer. It has, though, already been granted a licence for a similar space in the main Victoria Gardens area.
A licensing panel consisting of three councillors – Julie Cattell, Sam Parrott and Kerry Pickett – heard from Ashton Rise resident Fred Corneby.
He spoke about the lack of public consultation and the poor quality of the council’s consultation as well as the lack of understanding of how noise travels from St Peter’s Square.
At the hearing, Mr Corneby said that neighbours were supposed to be leafleted about the Spiegelgarden but they never were.
At public meetings held about the various events throughout the year, he said that he had been “belittled” for complaining about noise and was accused of “ruining” events for others.
Mr Corneby said that he had endured “sleep deprivation, having the pleasure of our home ruined by inconsiderate events hosted by the council (and) no respite from relentless loud music and bass”.
During fan zone and Spiegelgarden events, he said, “we have had to leave our home many times just to get a stress-free evening and a goods night’s sleep.
“Since the council decided to change the gardens at the end of our road to make it an outdoor arena, I now live with heightened anxiety knowing that my life will be impacted at any time for a pop-up event but, in particular, during the Fringe.”
Council outdoor events manager Ian Baird said that his team was looking to take on the leaflet delivery, having been made aware of issues with previous information drops.
Future events in the square would be on the hard-standing space closer to the church, Mr Baird said, describing it as a “much smaller area”, reducing noise levels.
He said: “While this licence is an application, we don’t have any use for it (the area) currently.
“What we do want to do is make sure that we have the right licensing in place so when we have the activations that have been requested by residents, for example, a regular market, that we have the licensing in place to facilitate that.”
No events were planned for the Brighton Festival or Fringe in May, the panel was told, and likewise no late-night events were planned in the area.
The panel retired to make its decision which should be made public within five working days.
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Same with Preston Park. The Events team forget that its in effect a natural bowl and we have no choice but to leave home for some events, particularly Pride. No amount of complaints will change the mind of the council – too much money involved and Ian Baird actually had the nerve to suggest it was “acceptable inconvenience” to me once. When I pressed him, he backed down, but the cat was out of the bag. In short the council couldnt give a damn about local residents who border the so called “events spaces” of the city. I feel desperatel sorry for those residents that have to suffer the Festival noise. Quite frankly the inconsiderate over-use of Preston Park has ruined our summers here.
Same here. I live near Preston Park and the best summers were those when Pride was cancelled and we were allowed to use the park and not be deafened for days. Much of the park is actually closed for almost two weeks for Pride events, at exactly those times when residents would most like to enjoy it. Pride has got so loud and goes on for so long that I now leave Brighton to spend the big weekend away because peaceful enjoyment of my own home isn’t possible. And in midsummer the walled garden is closed, just when it is looking so beautiful, and two filthy, noisy diesel generators are installed outdoors so the council can sell the space to a private cinema chain for outdoor screenings. Residents can get lost, and don’t bother complaining.
These are small patches of land surrounded by residential properties, some just a few metres away – it’s not a bricks and mortar venue and its in a CIZ area with an alcohol recovery centre and dry hostels just a few metres away.
Noise cannot easily be contained as it rises and travels and wind direction plays a role as well.
Valley Gardens was donated to the residents of B&H and when it was developed a few years back from lottery funding – it was sold in as a green lung in the city a beautiful garden for all to enjoy befitting of healthy lifestyles.
And it was beautiful until the outdoor events team land grabbed & commercialised it and ruined it for all residents. It was never designed as a music festival space running for over a month non-stop – like last years Spiegel Beer Garden until 2am on a narrow piece of land. Thankfully that section of land is no longer being used and licensing is reviewed to at least cut back the hours to 11pm / midnight.
Reducing the late hours further and shortening Fringe festival events in this location, is not going to drastically affect the Festival Income as this is Fringe Activity and revellers expenditure on £14 a glass of wine or £8 a pint is going into the pockets of the Laine Pub Company or other brewing partners event organisers use.
Jobs are mainly temporary, student, minimum wage roles – these small residential patch of land are hardly core to our economy.
BHCC need to move away from a reliance on alcohol sponsors and switch to health and well-being sponsors many of whom I’m sure would love to support creative industries and artists. Alcohol can still be sold.
However, relying on alcohol and brewery sponsors as a first port of call, is just an easy, lazy approach because they have been courted.
Most often Brighton is cited as just a party town where anything goes – and that goes hand in hand with the kind of anti-social behaviour residents are complaining of.
Noise levels also go against the councils own policy and nuisance guidance. The BHCC new outdoor events policy crows about putting residents first and centre of consultation – but it does the very, very bare minimum in that regard. Meetings are often one-sided fait accompli presentations which result in residents being frustrated and often insulted.
Sadly, there is a universal residential and event industry distrust and vote of no confidence in the current Outdoor Events Development Manager. The latest Report to be presented to the next full Council meeting is the weakest I have ever read. Full of dated and unsubstantiated figures and claims – and zero financial charts stating the physical rental income versus departmental overhead costs leading to an actual profit figure that can be weighed up against the downsides when the WRONG spaces are misused.
Events are great – in the appropriate spaces, in the wrong spaces they work against everything the Council state they are trying to achieve regards residents’ health and well-being.
If anything the pop up bars in the summer do more harm than good to the bars in the lanes and north lane area. I was talking to an owner about last year’s and they said it was terrible for the couple of weeks that speigle was open
I can hear the Pride concerts at Preston Park from my house.
It reminds me that there is life in the city and that Brighton is a fantastic and vibrant place to be, though the lightweight pop events are a long way from my tastes. However, I appreciate that people love it, and I’m proud to live in a city that knows it’s still alive and well and enjoying being an attraction to so many from so far away.
We are not, or ever will be, Eastbourne. Long may it continue.
Hear hear!