A waterpark can carry on hosting events and selling alcohol despite a mass brawl breaking out at an unlicensed boxing night.
Lagoona Park’s premises licence was under threat after the incident in February this year.
Officers from Wokingham Borough Council referred the owners of the Pingewood-based park to a licencing committee hearing, which was held earlier this month.
As many as 30 people were involved in the brawl that broke out at a boxing event hosted by Lagoona Park, and which its managers knew they didn’t have permission to hold.
Licensing officers said the venue did not appear to have enough security in place on the night.
They also said children were seen at a World Cup screening in November last year, and park co-owner Andy McLeod-Ross told them to “f*** off,” as his son restrained him.
Licensing officers said they wanted a “marked improvement in how events are hosted” at the site.
Thames Valley Police went further, and recommended that the council suspend Lagoona Park’s licence and prosecute its owners.
Instead, the council’s Licensing and Appeals Hearing Sub Committee agreed to impose new licence conditions proposed by park owners’ lawyer, Jon Payne. It also ordered Lagoona Park’s current designated premises supervisor to be removed from their role.
Under the new licence, managers must keep an incident log of crimes, ejections, disorder and seizures of drugs and weapons, ensure that digital CCTV systems record constantly while the venue is open, and employ at least two bouncers for events of 149 people, with an additional bouncer for every 150 people after that.
This follows complaints by council licencing officers that Lagoona Park managers had only provided them with limited CCTV footage following the brawl. The officer said footage provided did not appear to show there was sufficient security in place.
Managers will also have to submit event management and noise management plans to the council three months before hosting outdoor events of more than 500 people.
Councillors made the decision following a hearing on Wednesday, May 10.
At the hearing, councillors heard officers had tried to work with Lagoona Park’s owners to amend their licence after the World Cup event. Instead, the owners went on to submit a “frivolous” application to change their licensing conditions that didn’t contain enough detail.
Officers said the brawl and boxing match then “forced” the review.
In their defence, co-owner Shelly McLeod Ross said had “worked hard to provide a safe and fun environment to the local community for both day and evening events”, adding it is “a well-needed slice of urban paradise to escape to from the stressful world that we currently live in.”
