Drake Hall Gets Licence

THE future of Chafford Hundred community hall is no longer under threat after a public events licence was approved by councillors last night (Wed 18 May 2011).

After two hours of heated debate the cross-party committee made up of Labour's Wendy Herd Curtis and Mike Stone and Tory Steve Veryard gave the thumbs up on the licence with restrictions.

They include keeping the side doors of the Drake Road hall closed and a noise reduction system being installed so neighbours are not disturbed.

Everyone agreed that the hall does a good job with kids clubs and over 50s clubs using it during the week, but problems arose when the hall was hired out privately at weekends.

Committee chairman cllr Stone said: "The hall is run by the community for the community and it is good to see that community spirit is still alive in Thurrock."

Drake Community Centre - Noise Issue

On Saturday 9th August, a lot of residents contacted me and other Councillors in respect of the atrocious noise and parking issues which seemed to emanate from the party going on in the Community Centre.

One of the issues raised was the lack of available licensing personnel from the Council - however the out of hours officer was on call and eventually made it to the location and liaised with the police.

The other long term issue is the type of license the Community Centre (or users of the hall) have.

There is a legal requirement for the Hall Management to ensure that the appropriate permission is there is regulated music (i.e. amplified music or a DJ). Its either that the Centre has a license in itself or the users of the Hall have a Temporary Event Notice (a license) in place prior to the occasion.

In any case, residents should have the opportunity to comment on any license application and raise concerns they have about the event.

The Council is investigating the noise pollution of Saturday further and I will update residents via this blog of any outcomes.

If you have any comments or you witnessed the event please contact me cllr tunde