To inform Members that an application has been received for the Grant of a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 from Mr William Marsden and Mrs Susie Marsden at Alresford Hall, Ford Lane, Alresford, Colchester, Essex for a limited period licence and to include the sale of alcohol on the premises, performance of live music, performance of play.

 

Further to inform Members that the application has received objections to the proposed licensable activities from members of the public and a Responsible Authority.

The Licensing Manager informed the Sub-Committee that an application had been received for the grant of a premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003 from Mr William Marsden and Mrs Susie Marsden at Alresford Hall, Ford Lane, Alresford for a limited period licence to include the sale of alcohol on the premises, performance of live music and performance of play.

 

The application had been made for the 21 May 2026 until the 25 May 2026 in relation to a one-off historical re-enactment event organised by The Sealed Knot.

 

Members heard that the Sealed Knot, according to their website, had been described as “the oldest re-enactment society in Europe. They bring history to life by staging events throughout the country all year round, offering a chance to experience at first hand the horrors of a nation at war with itself, as well as providing a glimpse of everyday life in those days”.

 

It was reported that the designated land included a demonstration field area for re-enactment and displays, a separate area for a food and drink village with seating and a series of artisan craft stallholders. A further designated field would be used for public parking. There were no buildings on any of the designated land areas. Public access was limited to Sunday 24 and Monday 25 May 2026 between 9:30am and 6pm.

 

It was highlighted that The Sealed Knot re-enactors had their own separate camping field, with a bar and amplified live music on Saturday and Sunday evenings.

 

In accordance with the Licensing Act 2003, the blue notices that informed the public of the application, had been displayed at the premises at the appropriate time. Officers had later been notified that some notices had been taken down and were not located correctly. The applicant had therefore been requested to re-display the blue notices, including additional notices with a revised consultation end date to ensure the statutory consultation period was correctly observed.

 

The Sub-Committee was informed that the event had been reviewed by the Tendring Safety Advisory Group (SAG), whose membership included officers from relevant Council departments together with external partner agencies such as Essex Police, the East of England Ambulance Service, Essex County Council Highways, and other emergency and public-safety bodies as appropriate.

 

Members were advised that the Safety Advisory Group was not a statutory consultee under the Licensing Act 2003, and any discussions or advice provided by the SAG did not form part of the formal licensing consultation process.

 

Proposed Licensable Activities

 

The Licensing Manager informed the Sub-Committee that the applicants were proposing to open to the public and re-enactors to provide licensable activities on the following days/hours:

 

Public Area

 

Sale of Alcohol – Public bar for main event

Sunday 24 May and Monday 25 May 2026               10:00 – 17:00

 

Performance of Play

Sunday 24 May and Monday 25 May 2026               14:00 – 16:00

 

Re-enactors Area – Not open to the Public

 

Sale of Alcohol

Thursday 21 May 2026                                               18:00 – 22:00

Friday 22 May 2026                                                    12:00 – 23:00

Saturday 23 May and Sunday 24 May                       11:00 – 00:00

Monday 25 May                                                          11:00 – 20:00

 

Late Night Refreshments

Saturday 23 May and Sunday 24 May 2026              23:00 – 00:00

 

Live Music

Saturday 23 May and Sunday 24 May 2026              19:00 – 23:00

 

The full application was attached to the report (A.2) as Appendix A.

 

Present at the meeting were Susie & Will Marsden, the applicants, Jenny Davie and Matthew Thompson, Sealed Knot (event organisers), and James Folger, an objector, who attended via Microsoft Teams.

 

Questions by Members:	Answers:
Have there been any objections from Essex Police?	(Michael Cook) Essex Police form part of the Safety Advisory Group. No objections were received from Essex Police as a responsible authority Licensing Act consultees.

 

The applicant, Susie Marsden, addressed the Sub?Committee and explained that the event was intended as a daytime historical and educational reenactment. She confirmed that the proposals had been reviewed by the Tendring Safety Advisory Group on 9 March 2026, and that the organisers had received and considered the Group’s recommendations. Mrs Marsden reported that issues relating to noise and public nuisance had been managed through an independent noise assessment, a noise management plan, and a 90 dB limit for music. She added that the reenactment activities would take place only between 2pm and 4pm, with limits placed on the number of cannon fires and charges. Mrs Marsden also highlighted the comprehensive Event Management Plan and the Traffic Management arrangements that would be implemented as part of the event.

 

Questions by Members:	Answers:
Will there be any traffic driving through Ford Lane?	(Applicant) Yes, but it will be very limited. Ford Lane access will only be used for beer deliveries, and four horse boxes. These vehicles are unable to use the Wyvernwood access that all other vehicles will use. Plus any emergency vehicle that require access.
Where will the marshals be sited?	(Applicant) There will be marshals in the car park area and two marshals at the road crossing on the estate for security purposes. There will also be marshals in the event area that will be present for 24 hours a day.
Have you made any provision for a wind down period in the evening?	(Applicant) On Saturday and Sunday, the live music will conclude at 11pm. Alcohol will also finish serving at this time and there will be a strict 1 hour drink up time.
What number of ticket sales are you anticipating for the event?	(Applicant) The number of tickets available are 3,000, but not all have been sold yet.

 

The objector, James Fulger, spoke against the application raising concerns regarding noise and public nuisance, parking, security and public safety and the impact all of those would have on residents.

 

The Chairman (Councillor J Henderson) then adjourned the meeting at this time whilst the Sub-Committee retired to deliberate and reach its decision. The Litigation Lawyer (Sarah Opene) and the Democratic Services Officer (Katie Koppenaal) retired with the Sub-Committee for observatory reasons only.

 

Upon resuming the meeting, the Chairman (Councillor J Henderson) read out a statement detailing the Sub-Committee’s decision which was as follows:

 

“The Sub Committee has given careful consideration to this application. The premises being Alresford Hall, Ford Lane, Alresford Colchester, Essex, CO7 8AY

 

The application was summarised by Michael Cook who is TDC’s licensing manager. In summary he stated that the application is in relation to a time limited license. The application is for a historical event to allow for the sale of alcohol on the premises, performance of live music, performance of play, during the period of 21 and 25 May 2026. 

 

The re-enactors for the event have a separate camping field. He stated that all other emergency public bodies have been consulted. He also stated that the event had been reviewed by the Tendring Safety Advisory Group which also includes Essex Police and other external bodies. Representation was made by the Council’s environmental team but withdrawn following provision of a noise impact assessment and noise management plan and that 7 representations were received from members of the public.

 

The applicant Susie Marsden was present alongside Will Marsden and Jenny Davies from sealed knot. In making representations Mrs Marsden stated that Sealed Knot has over 50 years of experience with such events. The event includes controlled evening activities for enactors only. The event has been safely carried out for the years it has taken place. An independent acoustic was commissioned with a noise management plan provided.

 

She stated that there is active monitoring, activity is limited from just 2 – 4pm. No cumulative volleys, reduced charges and no firing towards residential area. The environmental team is satisfied that there is unlikely to be a nuisance. Since submission of the objections the issues raised have been dealt with or mitigated.

 

She addressed various other concerns raised by the objectors such as black powder stating that its use is confined to the battlefield area. It was said that there were just 2 generators for traders and highly unlikely to impact residents. In relation to waste it was said that all waste collection will take place during the day. As regards complaints relating to use of estate lane it was said that event traffic will be routed through Wyvernwood. There will be no traffic or residents passing through the estate but for emergency, stewards will be in place as well as marshals. There are cordoned off exclusion zones inside the estate to protect the privacy of the residents.  It was also said that there are a medical team and ambulance, use of black powder is subject to strict control amongst others.

 

In relation to crime and disorder in regards alcohol it was said that the re-enactors campsite is private, there is an incident log, challenge 25 amongst others. It is said to be a family focused event and there are safeguarding protocols in place. Attendance at the event is said to be controlled and managed by ticketing, it is time limited and sealed knots has a reputation of running events efficiently. It was said that the concerns raised have been dealt with or subject to controls.

 

There will be 4 horse boxes coming via the private gates of Ford Lane. There will be Marshalls stationed on the site for 24 hours and ticket sales will be capped at 3000 and they are not quite there yet.

 

The Chairman addressed Mr Folger asking if he had any questions for the Applicant, Mr Fulger then stated that he could not hear. He did not indicate this, and the Chairman checked with the objector, and he said its fine and the meeting proceeded.

 

In making his submission Mr Folger reiterated his objection to the application stating that there is improper visibility and it is not a modest function. It involves roaring canons, camping, alcohol amongst others. Reference was made to TDC’s own policy i.e section 5.2, 5.3. He stated there is no known comparable event. He stated that the way the application has been communicated has been concerning. There are concerns over parking amongst others. He stated that it is a quiet rural area and is a shared estate with fundamental residential character.  He stated that the various elements assessed have been assessed in isolation and that is the central flaw.

 

He said that residents are particularly concerned with noise, alcohol related noise, people leaving the marque which he believes will create a disruption. Should it be granted he proposes severely restricting the event including the number of shots to be fired if the committee is minded to grant the application. Another concern is the consumption of alcohol by re-enactors into late in the night.

 

The Council has considered statutory guidance and the Licensing Authority's Policy. In reaching its decision, we have taken into account the views expressed by the Applicant, the objectors and our licensing team in relation to this application. 

 

The Sub-Committee has also considered the licensing objectives namely, the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance and the protection of children from harm.

 

The application has been determined on its own merit, and the decision of the sub-committee is to grant the application as requested, with the following conditions applied: 

 

1. Challenge 25
2. Stewards to monitor the licensable areas and any incidents must be reported to the event management and recorded.
3. Stewards to assist with crowd management and emergency access routes to be maintained at all times.
4. The premises licence holder shall ensure that at all times there will be a competent person/s able to administer first aid, also that an adequate and appropriate supply of first aid equipment and materials are available on the premises.  A record of any first aid treatment shall be taken and maintained at the premises.
5. Horse boxes to go through Ford Lane alongside larger vehicles as specified at the hearing
6. All re-enactors and members of the public will enter the site via the Wyvernwood main entrance gates, using established estate access points designed to accommodate visitor traffic.  With the exception of vehicles moving animals as these cannot traverse the Wyvernwood grounds.
7. Resident access via the estate lane must remain fully open and unrestricted throughout the event.
8. Traffic and parking must be managed within the estate.
9. The premises licence holder shall ensure that a contact telephone number for a responsible person at the premises is made available to local residents upon request.  The number shall be monitored at all times while the licence is in effect and shall be updated whenever personnel changes.
10. All recommendations contained within the Noise Impact Assessment and Noise Management Plan set out by Sharpes Redmore Acousticians dated April 2026, are to be implemented during associated events

 

Anyone aggrieved by this decision can appeal to the Magistrates Court within the relevant statutory period.

 

You will get notification of this decision in 5 days.”