Coldeast Mansion operators given licence to sell alcohol despite residents' protests

Fareham Borough Council’s Licensing Panel granted the licence after meeting with the owners of the property and local residents.

Jason Parker and Daniel Byrne took over the mansion this summer with the vision of turning it into a restaurant, hotel and wedding venue.

After they applied for an alcohol licence, 20 objections were submitted from local residents whose main concerns were noise and public nuisance.

‘Our problem is that it will interrupt our everyday life’ said Kelly Bedford who lives nearby the mansion on Rayleigh Walk.

‘I’ve got no objections to the daytime events and things going on until say 11pm or midnight on the weekend but anything beyond midnight is quite unacceptable when we’ve lived in such a tranquil, peaceful area.

‘There are people around me, there’s an NHS worker who worked through Covid, we’ve got a police officer next door, a highway security officer who works all throughout the night and sleeps in the day.

‘When he comes home at 4am are things still going on? He’s got two daughters, they're school age, will their sleep be disrupted and therefore their education?'

Paul Friedrich, another resident added: ‘The current project will involve an increase in footfall compared with the previous use as serviced apartments.

‘This increase in footfall will naturally mean an increase in noise levels and traffic in the local area.

‘While I wish the applicants well, this project’s commercial viability and success shouldn't be at the cost of residents’ welfare.’

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Jason Parker, who owns Becketts in Southsea, tried to reassure residents: ‘I completely understand the complaints of the neighbours, but it’s important to stress what we’re trying to achieve with the mansion.

‘We are not setting up a boozy environment, we won't be running drinks promotions. We tried bottomless brunches at Becketts, it was horrendous.

‘We are not on a high street, one of our primary target audiences is local people, we need to bring in families, to spend money to help us make a viable business.

‘If we alienate our staying guests and local members by running the building in an inappropriate manner, who's left? We’ll just shoot ourselves in the foot for a few busy weekends and making loads of noise.

‘We’re not pretending we’re going to run the business silently, it is a business that from time to time will generate noise.

‘We don’t look down on the objections, but what we are confronted with is fear of the unknown.

‘There are no facts, we’ve done nothing wrong, we intend to do nothing wrong.’

The licence limits the outdoor sale of alcohol and outdoor music to 11pm every day.

Chairman of the licensing panel, Cllr Michael Ford said: ‘The objections raised were all speculative to what might occur if the licence was granted.’

After the decision business partner Daniel Byrne said: ‘We’re happy to get on with it now, we want to get it opened and start trading.

`We have a vision for the building, I don't think the residents completely understand that yet, we ask them to trust us.

‘It’s not going to be a sports bar, it’s somewhere you go for afternoon tea, it’s a different clientele we’re going for.’