Noisy parties put hall under threat (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Noisy parties put hall under threat

THE FUTURE of the Dolphin Hall in Tetbury is under threat due to noisy revellers.

Complaints have been made to the police and Cotswold District Council about noise, and events have continued past licensed hours, said the management trustees committee at the annual meeting last Tuesday.

The Public Entertainments' License may not be renewed as a result, warned trustees. "Users will not finish on time. They will not close the bar or stop the music, much to the annoyance of neighbours," said Rodger Williams, an elected committee member and liaison officer for Tetbury Town Council.

The committee has looked into the cost of employing a security guard, but this option was too expensive as some companies charged a minimum of £75 per hour.

Other suggestions included committee members attending the functions or charging a non-returnable fee in the event of noise complaints, said Mr Williams.

The Dolphin Hall is a registered charity and the management trustees' committee is made up of a panel of voluntary trustees and users of the hall.

These include the British Legion, various sports clubs, the dramatic society and flower show organisers.

At the meeting, committee chairman Hugh Cuthill, who has been involved with the Dolphin Hall for ten years, resigned from his position, alongside some other committee members, due to the increasing responsibility of running the hall.

"Up until the end of March the license was in my name so I was liable for a £20,000 fine if the Public Entertainment License was breached," he told the public.

"An application has been made to Cotswold District Council to renew the license, but this is under serious threat," he said.

A new committee was assembled during the evening and members of the public were told it would form a partnership with the town council in an effort to stop the noise problems and retain the license.

Mr Williams said: "There is a rumour going round that the town council is going to take over the Dolphin's Hall Committee. It is not.

"It will try to help the new management in any way it possibly can."

He said all the town council would do was apply to become the new licensee and take bookings for events.

"But the town council would reserve the right to veto any bookings and say who could use it," he added.

This would lose the Dolphin Hall £1,000 per year, he said, but it was a choice between losing the funds or losing the hall altogether.

Jill Stopps, former Dolphin Hall treasurer, informed the public the accounts were "extremely healthy" and held over £13,000.

A spokesman for Cotswold District Council confirmed the Dolphin Hall premises are still licensed and there has been an application for renewal.

"At the moment it is going through the consultation process whereby the council consults the police, fire service, ward councillors and district council departments. There have been noise problems and the environment officer will report on that as part of the consultation," she said.