People living near an entertainment site just north St Peter’s Church said that revellers urinated in their gardens and they were sleep-deprived during weeks of Brighton Fringe events.
Some revellers even defecated in their gardens, according to residents of St Peter’s Place, Brighton, who spoke out during a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing on Friday (6 February).
They were objecting to a drinks licence application by the council for the grass area north of St Peter’s Church, close to The Level.
If granted, the licensed hours would be from 10am to 10pm from Sunday to Wednesday and from 10am to 10.30pm from Thursday to Saturday.
The hours sought would be longer during the fringe and festival season, from the last weekend in April to the first weekend in June.
On non-bank holiday weeks, the licensed hours if granted would be from 11am to 11pm from Sundays to Wednesdays and from 11am to midnight from Thursdays to Saturdays. On bank holiday weekends, the hours on a Sunday would also be from 11am to midnight.
Neighbours said that they did not want a repeat of the heavy bass during Caravanserai – the last event at the site held in May 2023.
Maja Myall told the panel that the sleep deprivation led to her daughter dropping four grades in her English GCSE, compared with her predicted grade.
As a result, she missed out on a place at her first-choice university despite getting straight A grades at A level.
Mrs Myall said: “This proves a direct causal link between the venue’s operation and measurable harm to a child’s development.
“This May, she will be at home completing first-year university law exams so she will be doing exams again when this event is proposed.”
Mrs Myall said that people had urinated in their garden and a man was caught with his trousers down ready to defecate.
She said that events should end at 9.30pm, with all amplified music finishing at 9pm and with sound limiters on speakers.
Another neighbour, Tom Lines, said that there was no barrier stopping the sound rising to his bedroom or the homes of thousands of other residents lining the valley.
Mr Lines said: “The pounding bass and drum notes, in particular, rise insistently to bedrooms and higher. It is like forced attendance at a stadium rock concert but for hours on end, day after day, week after week.”
He wanted the area to stay as open green space rather than used for “alcohol-fuelled activities late at night”, without the later May hours, without off-sales of alcohol and with noise restrictions.
Anja Neidring described previous events as “pure torture” and has complained about the noise to event managers in the past but said that she was ignored.
She said: “My daughter has to be fit in the morning for college and I need sleep. I work as a teacher in early education. The late hours are entirely unacceptable.
“From a prior experience, it is like having a night club within 20 metres of my bedroom.”
Green councillor Ellen McLeay, who represents West Hill and North Laine ward, spoke on behalf of a resident, David Williams, who lives 30 metres from the proposed site.
During the 2023 event he was forced to leave his home for two weeks because of the disturbance.
Councillor McLeay said: “David accepts that living in central Brighton means some disruption. He welcomes major events – the Marathon, Pride and the Naked Bike Ride – because they are temporary and proportionate.
“But the length and intensity of this licence make it untenable.”
Council outdoor events manager Ian Baird told the panel that a different operator would run Caravanserai this year and it would not take place every day.
The existing licence, which allowed drink sales and entertainment until 2am the entire length of Valley Gardens, is due to be surrendered, replaced by separate licences for each site, with earlier closing times.
Mr Baird said that the area was considered a performance and grassroots music venue which would have closing times of midnight and 1am although events would not go on so late.
Three draft conditions were proposed for the new licence. One would ensure that sound systems were under the control of a site manager who could turn down the volume.
Traders would also come under the control of the site manager and no noise should be audible from 11pm.
Off-sales would only be offered by markets at the site, with alcohol sold in sealed containers from a stall.
Currently, the council can use the site for 28 days for events without having to submit a planning application.
Mr Baird said: “We are applying for a planning application for this location. The basis of this is the 28 days must include the build and break activity.
“The application will allow for a slight extension to the 28 days for the build and break. That does not mean there will be live entertainment beyond those 28 days.”
Brighton Fringe submitted a supporting letter stating that there would be no events on Tuesdays and the venue would open five days a week.
The panel of three councillors – Julie Cattell, Sam Parrott and Kerry Pickett – retired to make their decision which should be made public within five working days.
How on earth can Iain Baird simply nominate a piece of public land as a “performance and grassroots music venue”. I’m normally very anti-NIMBY, but in this instance I absolutely agree with residents. And Mr Baird’s response clearly shows his disdain basically saying that they can play music to 1am if they want to – but they probably won’t. Who is this unelected official who has the power to make decisions that affect people’s lives to such a massive extent.
At what does the Church think?
The urinating and soiling stuff aside, which nobody should have to deal with – these people live in the CITY CENTRE. What do they really expect? Everyone tip toeing past their homes and whispering like they’re in a library? The countryside is only a stones-throw away, maybe give that a go instead. I wonder how long it’d be before they were throwing a hissy fit about the farmers starting work too early.
You’ve reminded me of a story a friend of mine was telling me about a couple who moved to the countryside last year, and has been complaining to the local council that the cockerel next door was making a noise at first light every morning. 🐓🐓🐓
Imagine thinking there’s no difference between a normal level of city noise and a month-long festival
This is a new month long event in a new location in Valley Gardens
Be reasonable, there is a world of difference between living in a city centre, or the edge of it, and the noise that might be expected, and what basically amounts to a festival being set up on what has suddenly been decided to be an entertainment area.
FFS – This is the heart of the city centre, not even on the edge. It is not even past London road one of the main shopping centres. Open areas are designed for people to enjoy, we are talking about a few weeks a year – hardly forever and it stops at 11pm. People should move lots of people will pay a premium to live there.
People are strange it’s true, however the grassed area north of St Peter’s Church is NOT in my opinion an entertainment site. It became one with no consultation.
Next Outdoor events Engagement meeting at St Peters Church March 16th 5-6300
Mr Baird said that the area was considered a performance and grassroots music venue which would have closing times of midnight and 1am although events would not go on so late. Just because he says it doesn’t make it true!
This is a small patch of land surrounded by residential properties, some just a few metres away – it is not and never has been a grass roots music venue. It’s not a bricks and mortar venue for a start 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 for 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 one 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 – that small patch of land is 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.
Relying on alcohol and brewery sponsors is just an easy, lazy approach because they have been courted.
Most often Brighton is cited as 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 regard to 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 measured against the downsides using the WRONG spaces causes. 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.
The local community and businesses hosting the month-long events do not benefit but suffer from noise, ASB and having their grassed areas ruined for months on end
I thought the whole idea of the festival was to bring in revenue for the Brighton and Hove businesses. There’s plenty of pubs for people to drink and they have toilets.
I think if you live in the centre of a city such as Brighton, known for it’s party-vibe, and knowing it has always been this way and this is what it is famed for, then I think maybe it was a poor choice to live right there at the heart of it if you dislike that whole thing. I have no sympathy. Sorry.
We’ll no-one is complaining about a long weekender or even a week in a suitable location – they are talking about over a month with an unsuitable event in an unsuitable location. The location being a small patch of land next to a Church surrounded by residential homes and alcohol recovery centres. Not a lot of care and attention has gone into selecting that location has it?
Plenty of day time and mid evening evenings could utilise the space – put the outdoor, live music event, somewhere more suitable or reduce the lenght of event and pull back the hours to 11pm.
Brighton really needs to get a balance between healthy tourism and alcohol and drug fuelled tourism – leaning way too much to the latter will hollow out our City, drive everything down to the lowest common denominator, increase zero hour contracts and short-term jobs and leave it a ghost town in the winter. Is that the city you want to live in ? Time to get classier, smarter and clean up the city to build something more clean tourists and families want to visit.
I’ve certainly witnessed many people complain about a long weekend and a week in a suitable location in both public meetings and online.
I’d like to touch upon the alcohol recovery centres, because I think decentralising them would have both a local benefit to improving petty crime, and also give service users a better chance at recovery by distilling an environment that inherently drags them back in.
The festival organisers should have to compensate local residents who suffer from anti-social behaviour as a result. This might encourage them to ensure that festival goers know where the proper toilets are and do not get too drunk to be able to find them! What happens to all the events revenue anyway? The rest of the city do not seem to benefit in a meaningful way. It’s the same with Hove Lawns. Lots of local disruption but never any money to look after our parks and gardens as a result.
We know what happens to the revenue; it’s a matter of public record.
I was witness to somebody asking how much the council made from “renting” Preston Park to Pride and it took a lot of scratching of chins, umming and ahhing before somebody eventually said “we don’t make a profit”……..
It hasn’t always been this way, that is the problem, valley gardens from St Peters Church to the old steine used to be full of many fine trees and flower beds and lovely grassed areas. Today it is nothing like.
What I do not understand is why Black Rock cannot be used for this type of event. It has good road links, car parks at the Marina , no residential properties nearby and would bring in much needed footfall to this part of the seafront.
Its the 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 couldn’t give a damn about local residents who border the so called “events spaces” of the city. I feel desperately 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. The council is running all of this as a business which is to be expected, however its at the expense of local residents and they have absolutely no idea of the stress, anxiety and inconvenience it causes, and couldn’t care less as long as the money rolls in. Residents have had enough and its about time the council started listening and stopped paying lip service – holding “Resident Engagement Meetings” at 5:00 in the evening means people working most likely cannot attend. Stop pandering to Pride and Fringe – WE LIVE HERE AND ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
I’m glad people are complaining, because Brighton isn’t what it used to be. There is no need to have all these outdoor events, (temporary constructions – which make a travellers camp look pretty). The council need to get a grip.
If you choose to live in the city centre of Brighton, things like this are to be expected. Its the price you pay for living in a such a vibrant city. If you wish for the quiet life, move to the country.
Its like folk buying a house next to a noisy pub, then complaining about the noise. Get a life!