Fledgling Vineyard Near Plumpton Makes Licensing Bid

Friday, 7 August 2020 18:11

By John Warburton @Warblefly

Artelium, aerial view (Picture ©2020 Bluesky, Getmapping plc, Infoterra, Maxar Technologies)

A bid to sell alcohol at a fledgling vineyard business is set to go before Lewes councillors next week.

On Friday (August 14), a Lewes District Council licensing panel is set to consider an application for the sale of alcohol at the Artelium Wine Estate — a newly established vineyard near Streat.

The applicants — business owners Julie Bretland and Mark Collins — are seeking a licence to sell alcohol online, from an on-site shop (called the Cellar Door) and at pre-booked fine dining events to take place in the grounds.

The proposals, however, have seen objections raised by Nicholas Perkins, a neighbour, who argues the premises would be likely to cause a public nuisance.

In a letter of objection, Mr Perkins said:

“This application if granted … would result in the creation of a large uncontrolled licenced area in a rural situation where unlimited numbers of people could be attending alcohol-led functions — effectively “raves” — until late into the evening and therefore must be refused.

“In closing I would say to the applicants that I regret having to lodge this representation which could perhaps have been avoided if they had chosen to consult with those living locally and who will be directly affected by these premises before doing so — but they declined to do so.”

In his letter, Mr Perkins argues for greater restrictions on the licenseable hours, as well as the number of people who could attend any events and the amount of alcohol which can be bought by each customer.

He also argues that any alcohol sales (other than online sales) should be limited to those who have pre-booked tasting sessions.

Mr Perkins also points out that the estate does not currently have planning permission for a shop on the site and argues that granting permission for one would be against council policy.

Officers, however, say this is not a relevant consideration in the licensing process.

Sussex Police, however, has no objections to a licence, as long as certain conditions are agreed.

These include staff training and the keeping of an incident log on site.

In correspondence with police, the applicants say they intend to run a bar on the premises, but only on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings.

Outside of these evenings the bar would be reserved for pre-booked wine tasting events.

The applicants also say they have no intention of holding wedding receptions on site, but would hope to host pre-booked dining events for up to 20 people.

These dinners could be used to host birthday parties and similar celebrations, but would not differ significantly as a result.

The application is set to be considered at a hearing on Friday, August 14, where councillors will consider representations from all involved parties.