Knutsford wedding venue has licence reviewed
Local people living near Larkspur Lodge – formerly known as Leicester Warren Hall – have complained about the way that guests have left the area surrounding the venue, leading to the venue’s licence to review.
The complaints go back to 2010, from families living nearby, including neighbours Adele and David Wright, who attended the first licence review last week.
She said that her young family’s life is being made ‘an absolute misery’ due to noise and anti-social behaviour, following the change of usage from a masonic hall to a wedding and party venue three years after they moved in.
Mrs Wright said that during parties at the venue, music has been so loud that her family can identify the songs played – while her family has also suffered from bass vibrations, car doors and shouting when events come to an end, a loud outdoor PA system and smashed glass outside their home.
“This is never cleared up because nobody returns to the masonic hall afterwards to clear anything up,” Mrs Wright added. “So we have seen sick which has been left there, we’ve had to clean urine off the back wall of our house on two separate occasions.
The family first contacted CEC’s environmental health team for advice in 2010 and believed they had come to a resolution with the hall’s licence holder a year later – but none of the work proposed was completed.
The hall was taken over last month by the owners of The Belle Epoque, another wedding venue in Knutsford, and was rebranded as Larkspur Lodge.
The hall was taken over by the team behind popular Knutsford wedding venue The Belle Epoque last month – and it was rebranded as Larkspur Lodge.
Matthew Mooney, the new licensee at the hall, said: “We have broad experience, we have a wedding venue in Knutsford that has been there for 45 years. We’ve never had a licensing issue in 45 years, we have had an exemplary record. We are very used to dealing with neighbours and making sure that if they have issues we sit down, we speak to them, we discuss how we can mitigate any issues if they do arise. That’s what we have done, and we have extremely happy neighbours where we are.”
He added that architects are currently working on a ‘more substantial’ entrance to block out noise, while a noise limiting device can be added to the hall’s sound system and a new fence will be erected and monitored to prevent guests disturbing the Wright family.
Cllr Stan Davies, chairman of the committee that will decide on the hearing, welcomed the steps being taken towards resolving the matter. The hearing was adjourned until a future meeting.
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