'You can hide in the lavatory and hopefully that will work'

ORGANISERS of a Caribbean-themed festival in a park faced objections from neighbours when they applied for a drinks licence for the event.

S&A Entertainment plans to host its Taste of the Caribbean food and drink festival in Hove Park on Saturday, June 22, one of several similar events around the country.

The operator said it would be “an unforgettable outdoor street food experience, with food from different islands of the Caribbean, live music, funfair rides and rum punch”.

If the festival is a success, S&A Entertainment hopes to hold it over two days next year.

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It is due to run from 10am to 8pm but people living near the park have raised concerns about potential noise and public nuisance.

One of them was Goldstone Crescent resident Jeremy Mustoe who addressed a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing.

Mr Mustoe said: “It’s not just about decibels and noise.

“It’s a question of low-frequency sound, particularly music.

“I’ve had a lot of experience of events where from quite a long way away where you can hear the ‘boom boom boom’ of the beat and that’s something that’s quite difficult to get away from.

“You can hide in the lavatory and hopefully that will work but it really is a difficult situation to deal with, especially as the event will last for ten hours. Ten hours with a lot of noise is a lot to put up with.”

Mr Mustoe was also concerned about a potential 5,000 visitors to the park which he said was “poorly served” by public transport.

S&A Entertainment’s event manager Damien McClean said neighbours would be given a phone number so they could contact the team if they had concerns about noise or behaviour on the site.

He said the company was required to keep sound levels under control and would send someone to visit anyone who found the noise a nuisance, with a view to reducing sound levels.

He said he went to a meeting with residents and council officials in April, answered concerns and found that people welcomed the event.

Mr McClean added: “This event is a very laid back, chilled community event, similar to a country fête or village fair, with a mature clientele who want to relax, try out different cuisines and embrace different cultures, learn about other people, let the kids be entertained and enjoy a lovely summer’s day.

“The event is the coming together of the community and an event that breaks down racial, religious and sexual orientation barriers, with lots of activities for children.”

The proposed drinks licence would run from 10am to 8pm and alcohol would be sold for consumption on the site only.

The licensing panel, councillors David McGregor, Julie Cattell and John Hewitt, retired to make their decision which should be made public next week.