Trentham Estate seeking permission to hold more events

The North Staffordshire attraction already hosts live music performances and open air cinema screenings are also on the cards for visitors later this year. Now venue bosses have asked Stafford Borough Council for permission to hold more events each year in the amphitheatre and a field.

The application form submitted by Hannah Cope, senior events coordinator at the Trentham Estate, said: “We would like to extend slightly the number of events we are currently licensed to hold on our amphitheatre; we’re currently licensed for up to 15 events and we would like to up this to 20. These won’t always be fully used but it would be good to have the buffer to enable us to host some daytime events and outdoor screenings alongside our summer concerts.

“We are currently licensed for six events in the events field and would like to extend this to 12. This number of events will not be maxed out every year but it would give us a bigger buffer to host more events on site in specialist/celebratory years.”

Resident Dean Hughes has objected to the planned event number increase however. He said: “We strongly feel that our lives will be negatively impacted by an extension to the number of events in terms of noise and pollution from vehicles.

“We live directly opposite the entrance to the estate and can clearly hear the music which is played quite loudly until late into the evening. There is then the noise from the guests leaving the events to contend with who are often under the influence of alcohol and are very loud and quite often using bad language.

“The current levels of events already causes significant disturbance to our weekly routine. When there is an event the level of traffic into and out of the estate completely blocks the roundabout and connecting roads meaning we are often unable to leave which severely impacts our ability to get to and from work.

“The road upon which we live is also used as an extension to their parking lot and drive ways are continuously blocked by inconsiderate drivers with no monitoring of this from Trentham Leisure staff. In addition to this 24 residents’ own vehicles parked on have been damaged.

“There have also been occasions of party goers waiting, setting up chairs, drinking and singing or sleeping over in camper vans. This causes considerable noise and disruption to residents

“We consistently have wine and beer bottles and general litter thrown into our garden on the days/ nights of the events, the most extreme being shopping trolleys and deck chairs being left behind, and there is often evidence of urination. We have already reported these issues and concerns to the office at Trentham Estate but were met with a totally unsatisfactory response leading to us lodging this objection.

“In our opinion as residents, if Trentham Leisure wish to extend or expand the number of events we feel that extra provision should be made in terms of access to and from the estate. The estate has continued to grow over the last 10 years but there has been minimal extension to access which continues to be a significant issue.”

The application will be considered by members of Stafford Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee on Thursday.

The Trentham Estate has stated that it will take steps to tackle public nuisance through measures including providing sufficient on-site parking for visitors and trained staff for traffic management if required. There are also procedures to eject any visitors not behaving appropriately, as well as event management plans, marshalling of events and alcohol restrictions and bag checks.