Caribbean Festival Given License Ahead Of June Event In Hove

Monday, 3 June 2024 04:00

By Sarah Booker-Lewis, LDRS

The organisers of a one-day Caribbean-themed festival planned for Hove Park this month have been granted a drinks licence.

The Taste of the Caribbean Food and Drink Festival will be permitted to sell alcohol at the event on Saturday 22 June despite objections from some people living near the park.

If the event proves successful, the operator S&A Entertainment hopes to stage the event over a weekend annually from next year.

Drink can be sold from 10am to 8pm after a decision by a council licensing panel made up of three councillors – David McGregor, Julie Cattell and John Hewitt – on Wednesday 22 May.

Sussex Police and Brighton and Hove City Council’s licensing team agreed draft conditions with the organisers before the hearing.

These required one personal licence holder to be present for every two bars and no drinks to be sold in glass containers.

The licence conditions state that Sussex Police should have free access to all parts of the licensed site when it is open. The site would be fenced off, with entry ticketed.

At the licensing panel hearing, S&A Entertainment’s event manager Damien McClean said that there would be plenty of toilets.

He said that there had never been a lack of toilets at other Taste of the Caribbean festivals held in London.

Two neighbours objected to the licence application because they were concerned about the potential for a public nuisance.

But the panel said that, at a public meeting held for residents of the Hove Park area, there was broad support for the event.

The decision letter from the council said that S&A Entertainment had met all the requirements to satisfy the council’s licensing and environmental protection teams and Sussex Police.

The letter said:

“There are adequate safeguards in place and any concerns arising from the event will be taken into account for future years.

“The panel notes the successful track record of the applicant to date. Furthermore, the event itself is within modest timings ending at 8pm and these timings will be followed for future events.”