Friends of Boston Manor Limited have made an application for a Premises License for Blondin Park and Community Pavilion on Windmill Road, Ealing which the council has approved. 

A licensing sub committee meeting took place on Friday, 23 August to determine whether Ealing Council should grant the proposals. 

The application sought a premises license for the sale of alcohol and regulated entertainment, including the provision of plays, exhibition of films, live & recorded music and performance of dance for an event taking place in September 2024. 

The group want to sell alcohol and provide entertainment in the form of the Brentford Festival on a permanent basis. 

The application seeks to host the Brentford Festival annually in September, with the first event next month. 

Friends of Boston Manor say it wants to "expand" the offering at Blondin Park by providing a full range of daytime community activities as well as private hire events.  

However, members of the local community have condemned such plans, with nearly 70 residents rejecting the application from Friends of Boston Manor. 

They have raised concerns over the proposal to facilitate the sale of alcohol and the performance of live music every day of the week, which would likely cause public disturbance and could stimulate criminal activity in the area.

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Representatives of the Metropolitan Police Service are concerned about the negative implications such a grant would have on the local community. 

After a visit to the Pavilion on 29 July, police observed that regulated entertainment with loud sound levels could cause "a public nuisance to the local residents" as "the walls appear very thin" and that there is "no sound proofing in evidence." 

Several conditions were also proposed by the police concerning security measures including the implementation of CCTV cameras on the premises and security presence at events where capacity exceeds 80 guests after midnight. 

Mary McLaughlin from Food and Workplace Safety does not believe that Friends of Boston Manor "will run this event safely" as it does not ensure two licensing objectives: public safety and protection of children from harm. 

In the report, she expresses her "serious concerns" regarding this event going ahead as she believes that the company "would not have suitable controls in place to deal with such [health and safety] incidents." 

On behalf of the Council's Noise and Nuisance Team, Mimi Stupu raised concerns over the noise mitigation strategies and measures proposed by the applicant, highlighting the fact that "the event management plan does not include any noise mitigations for Brentford Festival."  

Reasons for their disapproval are primarily centred around concerns over the safety of children in the community and the disruption noise levels will cause to the peaceful setting of Blondin Park and its surrounding areas. 

Ealing Council's sub licensing to grant the application on the condition that Friends of Boston Manor hold only two large festivals a year. Also, that the applicant must submit a noise management plan ahead of the event and crowds can only be inside the pavilion and in the tarmac during events.

To read the full Ealing Council Licensing Sub-Committee meeting report, click here.