Concerns after permission granted for 2am Wild Life after-party

Concerns have been raised after Wild Life festival organisers secured permission for a 2am-finish after-party, this newspaper can reveal.
Crowds at Wild Life last year. Picture by Eddie MitchellCrowds at Wild Life last year. Picture by Eddie Mitchell
Crowds at Wild Life last year. Picture by Eddie Mitchell

The invite-only ‘back of house’ event for staff, acts and special guests will feature entertainment and alcohol provision, according to Adur District Council.

Organisers SJM submitted a temporary event notice for the gathering, which will finish one hour after the festival gates close on the Saturday, and two hours after on Sunday

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Residents and councillors will have no say as police and environmental health officers were ‘reassured’ and raised no objection.

Chairman of Shoreham Beach Residents’ Association Joss Loader said: “While we accept that Wild Life passed off relatively peacefully last year, from a Shoreham Beach perspective - and was enjoyed by many local people - there still needs to be consideration for people living near by, particularly during the early hours of Monday morning.

People going to work on a Monday, teenagers taking public exams and parents with younger children, who are trying to sleep, are entitled to some peace and quiet after midnight on a Sunday. Can the organisers guarantee that’s going to happen?

Under the terms of the Licensing Act, police and environmental health are consulted on temporary event notices.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The application is automatically authorised if no objections are lodged.

Jean Irving, head of licensing and public safety at Sussex Police, said the event would be for a maximum of 499 people.

She said: “Temporary event notices can only be objected to when the police and the council’s environmental health officers are concerned the four licensing objectives – protecting children from harm, prevention of public nuisance, public safety and prevention of crime and disorder – are being undermined.

“The organisers were very quick to respond positively to police concerns, including reducing the hours the event is to run, stopping anyone under 18 attending the event and agreeing the attendance of security staff.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“In this case, following cooperation from the organisers, Sussex Police is satisfied the licensing objectives will not be undermined and therefore it was not necessary to raise a police objection.”

SJM has been contacted for a comment.

The first Wild Life event, at Shoreham Airport, took place last year.

A licence was granted following a two-day hearing, including a stringent list of 92 conditions.

The Shoreham Society lodged an application for a licence review after concerns noise from the festival was ‘excessive’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But environmental health had no concerns and the society’s bid to reduce noise limits was rejected.

The council’s spokesman said officers had been liaising with Wild Life’s sound engineers to ensure the event would not cause public nuisance.