Controversial application for premises licence at Hucknall playing fields pavilion is withdrawn

The application, by Jamie Brough, was for a licence to provide on-site sales of alcohol and live and recorded music from the Pavillion, from 8am to 12.30am Monday to Sunday each week.

And Ashfield District Council’s licensing team has confirmed that the application has now been withdrawn.

Mr Brough is also the man, as part of Sports Gateway, who put forward the application for a new 3G pitch on the same site.

But that too has, for now, been withdrawn.

In both cases, both proposals have been met with strong opposition from local residents, who feared increase in noise, anti-social behaviour, loss of the public space, noise levels, increased traffic, the effect on local wildlife, the loss of the facility to the public and the negative effect on house prices.Hucknall MP Mark Spencer (Con) has also voiced his concerns and said the three ward councillors for the area, Coun Lee Waters, Coun David Shaw and Coun John Willmot (all Ash Ind) should start speaking up more for residents.

He said: “You would have thought with all of the issues and objections that were raised by members of the public towards the original planning application that the Ashfield Independents would understand the strength of feeling.

“Nobody wants live music being blared out at midnight on a Sunday, just as people are trying to get some sleep before another week at work.

"This just goes to show how detached from reality the Ashfield Independents are.

“Local residents made clear their views on Sports Gateway – they don’t want them anywhere near our town.

“I want to know where our local councillors stand on this issue, it is high time that John Wilmott, Lee Waters and Dave Shaw spoke up.

But Coun Waters said Mr Spencer was wrong to make such claims.

He said: “David, John and myself, have raised resident concerns over these matters.

“The licencing application and the 3G application have been withdrawn.

Mark Spencer, knows very well the ward councillors have not been staying quiet.

"In fact, I even wrote directly to Mark Spencer two weeks ago in response to a question he asked me, so he is being very disingenuous to make such claims.”