Residents' noise fears over late night Derbyshire music and wedding venue plans

The owners of Mapperley Farm, in Main Street, Mapperley, between Ilkeston and West Hallam, want a premises licence to be able to host events all year round up until 1am.

Mapperley Farm is already a popular wedding and events venue but has strict restrictions in place, enforced by Amber Valley Borough Council, that it cannot play music after 11pm.

This is due to historic issues caused by particularly late night music, with numerous complaints filed to the council over the problem in 2015 and 2016.

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Since then, the council says there have been no formal complaints, saying this must be down to the restrictions which have been put in place.

A borough council licensing meeting on Wednesday, June 22, will decide whether the farm is granted its premises licence.

Visiting the area, residents in Mapperley appeared to be largely content with the plans and had experienced little disruption, but the same cannot be said for neighbours in West Hallam a mile across the fields to the rear of the venue.

E D Glover and Sons, owners of the venue, wants to be able to play music and sell alcohol from 9am until 1am every day of the week, all year.

The applicant says they have applied for a premises licence so that it does not have to keep applying for temporary event notices every time it wants to host an event.

Premises licences also give the council and police more room to enforce restrictions and gives residents the right to call the licence in for review if there are concerns over its operation.

As part of the application, the venue says that for “international sporting events” which fall outside the “standard hours”, the venue will open an hour before the event starts and close an hour after.

The applicant was approached for comment.

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On the venue’s website, it says: “We have been a family run farm for over 50 years hosting events for eight years for up to 500 people.

“We started out as a dairy farm and are now a beef and sheep farm running alongside our outdoor events services.

“We are a proud team of family and friends. It is our passion that your time with us is truly enjoyable.

“Whatever size of event, large or small, weddings, corporate events, private parties and more, our site can be hired for up to 500 people. and tailored to your needs.

“Mapperley Farm Events keeps growing every year to ensure its improvements cater for today’s couples, and businesses.

“It is important to us that the changes we incorporate into our events business meets the needs of our clients, and so, we regularly catch up on feedback.

“Situated in the heart of Derbyshire, we have the ideal outdoor venue to exclusively hold your event in a picturesque countryside location.”

A Mapperley resident, who did not wish to be named, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Occasionally past events have been noisy and there have been some traffic problems.

“As long as there is a form of complaint if there are problems, I am not against it.”

Carol Hopewell, who has lived in the village for 45 years, told the LDRS: “It doesn’t worry me. I know farms have to diversify and we have got to go with the flow.

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“I have had very little disruption. Just the booming of loud music sometimes, but it is not very frequent. I just go indoors and shut the windows.”

In High Lane West, in West Hallam, residents said they were frequently disturbed by events at the venue, with sound travelling across the “valley” from village to village.

Ed Bayley, an NHS worker who has lived near the site for eight years, said: “Our concern is the noise. I think Mapperley residents don’t get the noise as much but it comes across the valley and affects us.

“On Saturday nights it is particularly bad, especially if you are in the garden.

“I am not sure if it needs to be seven days a week, we wouldn’t want it, with the kids’ schooling and exams.

“We appreciate local business but we aren’t sure what they are going for.”

His wife, Susan Bayley, wrote an objection letter saying: “We are supportive of local venues and understand the need for farms to diversify to maintain income. We have been very patient with the noise from Mapperley Farm over the previous years but oppose the idea of extending licensing until 1am and to include every day of the week.

“As the events are usually held in a tent and there is little natural soundproofing across the valley. The sound is incredibly problematic, we can hear each song whilst sitting in the garden or in the house.”

A High Lane West resident, who did not want to be named, said: “I can see what they are trying to do but if you live in the area you will not want the noise. There are concerns it will lead to greater noise and traffic.

“We back out onto the fields and the noise carries. I’d prefer not to have all night parties, I’d prefer not to have it. They have got to consider their neighbours.”

The council’s pollution officer has raised concerns that the 1am alcohol and music hours could undo the improvements to the site’s operation since 11pm restrictions were imposed.

They say they are concerns that the application represents a “significant increase in activities”.

The official says they have concerns that there is a potential for a “noise nuisance” and about the measures to be put in place to restrict disruption.