Froyle Park prevails after 3-day licence review hearing

Froyle Park is a magnificent 16th century, Grade II* listed, venue that has operated as a successful and award-winning wedding venue since 2014. Having previously been a school for sick-children, and before that a military hospital in WW1, the 2014 redevelopment of the site included the construction of a number of homes very close to the main site.

Complaints from residents who moved into those homes, next to the wedding venue, centred on allegations of music-escape, people noise, anti-social behaviour by wedding guests, supplier clear-down, noise from leaf-blowers used for garden maintenance, invasion of residents’ privacy from videographers’ drones, traffic and parking issues. 

In 2025 the Upper Froyle Residents’ Association was established. Their first significant act was to launch a review of Froyle Park’s Premises Licence under the Licensing Act 2003. The application sought, among other things, to significantly curtail the number of events the venue could host each week and limit the number of guests attending events. The financial impact of these changes would have rendered the business unviable. East Hampshire District Council’s Environmental Health officers supported the residents’ review application in addition to the local Parish Council and some 43 residents from the village who responded to a local campaign to rally support for the licence review. However, some 144 representations in support of Froyle Park were also submitted to the Council from some other local residents, visitors, and suppliers who evidenced the significant contribution Froyle Park made to the local economy and the efforts the operators had made to mitigate the noise impact on residents. 

These representations were supported by a local district councillor. In response to the review application, Froyle Park proposed to condition into the licence a number of operational changes they had made in response to the causes of concern. A noise expert instructed by Froyle Park, Steve Gosling of 24 Acoustics, provided detailed evidence in support of the venue’s acoustic mitigation measures.

At the hearing, which unusually was listed over 3 full days before a licensing sub-committee of East Hampshire District Council, Froyle Park pointed to the increased relevance of the financial impact of the proposed restrictions on both the operators and local economy as set out in the recently revised Statutory Guidance to the Licensing Act 2003 which states at paragraph 1.18: “When making licensing decisions, all licensing authorities should consider the need to promote growth and deliver economic benefits.”

The sub-committee were invited to consider the fairness of residents moving into homes next to a major wedding venue and then seeking to complain about the noise from weddings. A particular concern of residents related to the noise from the traditional dhol-drumming performed at Hindu weddings to celebrate the arrival of the groom. A Hindu priest gave evidence on behalf of the licence holder as to the cultural and religious significance of the drumming and, if this were totally banned as the reviewing residents requested, that it would have the effect of deterring people of the Hindu faith from celebrating their weddings at Froyle Park. In this regard, the venue pointed out the duty on the Council, acting as the licensing authority, to have regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty imposed on local authorities by section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 and consider the disproportionate impact that a total ban on dhol-drumming would have on people of the Hindu faith. Moreover, the noise expert instructed for the applicant residents conceded under questioning at the hearing that the mitigation steps the venue had taken to minimise the impact of the dhol-drumming were “reasonable”.

In the event, the Council refused to impose the conditions sought by the applicants limiting the number of events that may be held at the venue or reducing its capacity. A number of further conditions, as proposed or agreed to by the premises licence holder, were imposed instead – all of which were designed to balance the commercial interests of Froyle Park with the concerns of the local residents who lived close to the venue.

The Decision Notice, and a video recording of the hearing, can be accessed here: https://easthants.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=147&MId=4505

Gary Grant, of Francis Taylor Building, acted for the licence holder of Froyle Park instructed by David Foster and Hannah Irvine of Moore Barlow Solicitors.