A town faces ‘enormous disruption’ by a population ‘greater than Newcastle’ during the Henley Regatta, a resident has warned as he objected to a club’s plan to stay open later at night.
The Remenham Club in Henley-on-Thames wants to change its licence so it can stay open until 1am during the Henley Regatta.
The private members club sits on the reach of the river and hosts up to 2,000 people during the five-day long event.
Owners also want to extend its alcohol licence to sell until midnight.
Plans would not mean any more people attending the club, which are only members and guests.
Chairs of the club told a Wokingham Borough Council licensing and appeals sub-committee on April 23 the change in licence would only be used for ‘two hours per year’.
Martin Levy, chairman of the Remenham Club, said: “It’s really about an extra hour’s bar taking for us – we don’t run for profit, we aim to break even every year. To be honest, we struggle every year to break even.
“When the bar is running at a rate of two or three thousand pounds an hour, an extra hour would make all the difference.”
The club said letting members stay for an hour longer every day will mean thy leave more gradually, rather than ‘all in one go’.
But Ron Emerson CBE, an ex-banker, said this change ‘may look trivial’ but would have a ‘knock on effect’ for the area.
Mr Emerson claimed: “We have a population equivalent to Coventry or Swansea – greater than Newcastle – descend on this two square miles every year and the disruption is enormous. Because it isn’t just an extra hour here, it’s the cars and traffic.”
Mr Emerson said the council couldn’t ‘look at this in isolation’.
But legal advisor to the council Neil Allen said worries about setting a precedent were ‘strictly irrelevant’ and this application had to be viewed by itself.
For the licence to be granted, the club must demonstrate it is following legal objectives, which include prevention of public nuisance and ensuring public safety.
Mr Emerson said he has seen police officers ‘rugby tackling people outside my garden’ during the Regatta.
But secretary to the club Jane Osborne said there is ‘very little disorder’ on the premises.
“We are capable of disciplining our own members by removing their rights and their privileges,” Ms Osborne said, “and we do that if we need to”.
Wokingham Borough Council will publish its decision within five working days of the meeting, which took place on April 23.
