St Peter’s Church in Brandon gets green light to sell alcohol from West Suffolk Council following objections

A church hall in Brandon has had its alcohol licence approved after criticisms have been cleared up.

The licence was approved yesterday by West Suffolk’s Licensing & Regulatory Sub-Committee and will be used by St Peter’s Church Institute to create a small bar in a room off the hall’s kitchen.

Rev Dennis Coburn, assistant priest at the church, said the bar would be used mainly early in the day for wakes and funeral parties to gather, as well as for hire.

Before yesterday’s council meeting, however, two objection letters had been sent in by Cllr Jools Savage and Cllr Philip Wittam.

The letters raised concerns over potentially encouraging drunk driving, encouragement of drinking alcohol on church premises, making a profit from its sale, poor parking access, and noise.

However, after the meeting Cllr Savage said she had never been against the licence, and ‘all the information came from Cllr Wittam’.

She explained: “Some of the content was not my own words — I have never, ever, had a problem with it.

“There were a lot of residents in the vicinity who had a lot of concerns, so I had to do my job for them.

“I personally think it’s a brilliant thing because it will be supervised.”

Cllr Savage added she had written an initial letter ‘heavily influenced’ by Cllr Wittam, which she claimed was then modified by the latter before being sent in.

However, also after the meeting, Mr Wittam retorted, saying he had only ‘minimally altered’ the letter to ‘make it run coherently’.

He explained he had brought the issue to Cllr Savage after 19 residents came to him reiterating their concerns having not been able to contact Cllr Savage, but that she had a ‘mind of her own’ when drafting the first letter.

There was minimal difference between the first and final versions of the letter, with concerns regarding drunk driving, making a profit from alcohol sales, and encouragement of drinking on church premises present in both.

Rev Coburn, who spoke at the meeting, said the criticisms amounted to ‘nothing more than vilification’ and reassured the licence would allow the church to better monitor the consumption of alcohol.

He added: “Our intentions have always been to provide our parish with a space to come together and encourage more community engagement while raising vital funds to continue our Christian mission.

“Money raised through these events will be used to fund our work within the community and ensure we can support all those in need.

“We fully appreciate concerns over noise and would like to assure local residents we take this added responsibility very seriously.”

The licence was agreed under a series of conditions which included noise management, the protection of children from harm, and ensuring public safety.

Mrs Sue Meader, a resident who came out in support of the application, said it was ‘wonderful’ that the church would be able to further improve its events with the licence.

She added: “As a non-church goer, but someone who sees the good St Peter’s Church do in the local community in so many ways, I and others have the utmost admiration for the incredible support, camaraderie, and self-worth they give to people.

“There are many widowed, single, elderly or vulnerable people in Brandon who would never enter a pub to socialise or contemplate going into a building where they don’t know anyone.

“People of all ages really do feel incredibly comfortable, safe, and welcome.”