High Wycombe Cricket Club plans later alcohol sales for events to raise money

High Wycombe Cricket Club has applied for permission to extend its alcohol sales to help it hold occasional events to raise money.

The members cricket club wants to be able to sell booze for an extra hour until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and for half an hour longer until 11pm on Sundays.

The sports venue, based off London Road, has two indoor bars, one of which is for members and the other, part of a function room.

The club also wants to extend the licence it has for the bars to cover the grounds so it can hold a music festival to try and raise money for the cricket ground following the Covid-19 pandemic.

General manager Gavin Elliott explained the venue’s application during a meeting of Buckinghamshire Council’s licensing sub-committee on October 2.

Addressing councillors and officers, he explained that the club was not trying to change its usual licensed activities ‘on a major scale’.

He said: “We have to try and have events here outside of the clubhouse where we can raise money for the cricket club.

“It is not a case of trying to have a music festival every weekend of the year. We have said about two events per annum. We think that is a reasonable amount to be honest.”

Mr Elliott also explained that the proposed slight extension to alcohol sales inside was purely to bring its licensing hours in line with parties at the club, which typically last until midnight.

The club’s application to alter its licensing hours did not receive any objections by Thames Valley Police, Buckinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service or any of the other relevant authorities.

A single objection was received by Lisa Dodd, a resident living near the club, who said she had ‘suffered’ from previous events there including the ‘Big Bash’.

The resident said her sleep had been ‘disrupted’ by music and the crowd at Big Bash, this year’s edition of which included Coldplay and Elton John tribute acts.

She said: “Environmental Services have already imposed restrictions on the club having windows open in the upper room during parties as the noise level was deemed unacceptable.”

The resident also claimed that the area suffered from sound reverberating off surrounding buildings, causing ‘horrible effects’.

She added: “This may get worse with more blocks of flats being built and proposed.”

Mr Elliott told the meeting that previous Big Bash events had ‘not gone on late’, generally ending by 11pm.

The general manager added that the club had enjoyed a ‘peaceful’ and family-oriented edition of Big Bash last month and claimed that the club had only experienced two or three noise complaints over the last few years.

The committee will announce its decision on whether to grant the club changes to its licence in due course.