Chorley hotel goes unpunished for unauthorised Boxing Day bash

A Chorley hotel will not face sanctions in spite of breaching its licence by hosting a Boxing Day rave – without informing the police.
Park Hall Hotel in Charnock RichardPark Hall Hotel in Charnock Richard
Park Hall Hotel in Charnock Richard

The event – at the Park Hall Hotel in Charnock Richard – attracted 1,500 people and ran until 4am.

The licence for the Park Plaza nightclub on the site stipulates that written consent is required from the police for any event where the number of partygoers will exceed 500.

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Lancashire Constabulary asked Chorley Council to review the licence - which had been amended just a month earlier to extend the permitted opening hours – after finding it had failed to comply with a total of nine conditions during the “Bounce Til I Die” night, which was promoted by a third party and passed without incident.

These included being unable to provide a register of confiscated drugs, details of the door staff who were on duty or evidence of safety checks being carried out.

Half of the CCTV cameras at the venue were also out of order, the licence-holder could not identify any staff who were able to operate the system and recordings were not kept for the required 28 days following the event.

But as members of Chorley Council’s licensing committee met to consider what action to take against the hotel, police said they were satisfied that the problems at the premises had been put right.

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“I am confident that the management at Lavender Hotels have learned from the Boxing Day event…and have acted prompted and effectively to address the deficiencies identified that called the licence into question,” Sergeant Richard Horton, from Lancashire Constabulary, said in a written submission to the committee.

Councillors were told that training at the Park Hall Road hotel had been updated and that there had been a “substantial investment” in its CCTV system.

Management at the venue, which is part of the Best Western group, had also sought advice from an independent licensing consultant.

A Park Hall spokesman said: “As a popular entertainment venue, The Park Hall Hotel hosts many events throughout the year operating with the required licenses.

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“After the Bounce Til Die event, which passed off incident free, the hotel received some advisory recommendations from the police relating to some general updates to our policies.

“Following the satisfactory inclusion of these updates the license review request was withdrawn by the police and we now consider matter closed.”

Chorley Council's Licensing Act sub-committee agreed to take no further action.