By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
The new owners of historic Kelham Hall have been granted a new license to run large events and serve alcohol six months after its previous operator went bust.
A licensing hearing by Newark and Sherwood District Council on Monday (December 6) granted the agreement to applicant The Renaissance at Kelham Hall, giving new life to the historic, listed building.
The license allows The Renaissance to host plays, boxing, live music and other performances from 11am until 2am, Thursday to Saturday, with this limited to midnight for the remainder of the week.
The premises can also serve alcohol and late-night refreshments until the same time on the respective days.
The application comes after the previous licensee, Kelham Hall Ltd, went into liquidation in June 2021. Once a license holder goes bust, the new operator must apply for their own license.
Monday’s panel heard from James McGregor, the new operations manager, who outlined plans for the venue.
He said: “The business is undergoing rebranding, restructuring, and we’re looking to attract a higher clientele to the venue.
“Moving forward we want to work with and support local residents, and in essence, this license will support the business.
“Kelham Hall is a magnificent venue that’s been around for many years, it’s very much liked and loved by local residents, and from what we understand, they want to see it thrive.”
However, the meeting heard from two residents on nearby Home Farm Close who raised objections to certain elements of the application.
One resident was Nathan Morrell who told the panel that, whilst wanting Kelham Hall to be a successful business, he has concerns with proposed operating hours.
He said residents have previously experienced anti-social behaviour and loud noises until 2am or 3am, with guests at the hall “throwing glass bottles” into his garden, parking across his drive or using the street as a “taxi rank”.
He added: “The license until 2am and people being kicked out at 2.30am is just too late, and I don’t understand why it has to go on until that time in the morning.
“We also want some sort of limit on the numbers. If you can have 2,250 paying guests then, as a business, you’ll want to maximise that number. We just think it’s too many people.”
Andy Fereday, another resident on the same street, also raised concerns with the capacity, noise issues and traffic from vehicles leaving the venue.
In response, Mr McGregor told the panel the 2,250 maximum capacity was provided following a fire risk assessment request, and this number of people would not routinely attend an event.
Events would, he said, also not regularly run beyond midnight, adding the license is a continuation from the previous agreement rather than an extension.
He told the panel: “We’re committed to working with residents to promote a positive working relationship.
“The steps we’re taking will help to mitigate many issues raised, I don’t disagree or have an objection to a limit on numbers as they are more about clarity than wanting to put that many people into the venue.
“We are not the previous owner, manager or licensee, we take our responsibility seriously and we’re aware of the impact we have.”
To mitigate concerns, Mr McGregor added many of the events would be pre-planned meaning staff would know how many people are in attendance at the venue.
The hall has 250 free parking spaces available on-site and can use a large field to provide extra spaces for big events.
There would also be space in the grounds for a taxi rank, taking traffic away from streets like Home Farm Close.
And he also revealed plans to bring in controls such as temporary traffic lights to manage vehicles exiting the venue, and to work with residents to ensure their roads aren’t used for parking.
