LLANELLI Magistrates’ Court has ruled that Pembrokeshire County Council’s decision to stop a charity boxing event in Milford Haven was incorrect. The judgement was delivered on Monday, June 17.

The charity boxing event, originally scheduled for May 31 at The Hangar, was postponed due to the council’s actions. The Hangar, which has operated as an occasional events venue since September, appealed the council’s decision to issue a counternotice stopping the event.

Temporary event notices (TENs) authorise such events, and the council had consistently granted these notices until last month, when its Licensing Sub-Committee issued a counternotice, citing noise complaints and alleged misuse of the TENs process.

The objection leading to the counternotice came from a council officer who claimed the venue had become a public nuisance due to noise complaints. This officer also argued that the venue’s frequent applications for temporary permissions were an abuse of the TENs system and the council’s licensing policy. The court heard that the complaints were from two Milford Haven town councillors, one of whom lives nearby.

The magistrates were told that the sub-committee’s role was to determine if the noise complaints were significant enough to halt the event. The Hangar’s manager, Steve Bartram, argued that the boxing event would be quieter than other events previously held at the venue.

However, David Walters from Pollution Control informed councillors he would object to any further applications for events at The Hangar due to the risk of public nuisance from noise complaints.

On appeal, the magistrates criticised the council for placing too much emphasis on the perceived misuse of the TENs system. Bartram’s barrister, Matthew Graham Paul, successfully argued that the operation of the TENs system is defined by statute and should not be overridden by the council’s policies, regardless of individual officers’ opinions.

The magistrates noted that there had been no complaints about previous boxing events and that the complaints about other events were not clearly evidenced. “We do not consider the counternotice should have been issued because the boxing event was unlikely to cause a public nuisance,” the bench stated.

“We had to consider if the decision of the sub-committee was reached by correct procedure, and we find that it was not. We allow the appeal.”

Regarding costs, Mr Paul argued for reimbursement of his client’s legal fees of £1,750, stating, “The sub-committee was misled by the council officer. They considered their own policy rather than the merits of the boxing event.”

“Pembrokeshire County Council were effectively saying ‘we are the sheriff in this town, and we say how we do things around here’,” he said.

Pembrokeshire County Council’s counsel, Ben Blakemore, countered, “The council made a decision and it made a mistake. Mistakes happen. The council should be able to make decisions without fear of incurring costs at appeal.”

” We are all human and mistakes happen. We are not yet in the situation where AI and computers can make these decisions for us”, he said.

Both barristers cited case law to support their arguments on costs. After a short adjournment, the bench decided to reserve the matter for a future date, allowing time for legal submissions from both sides to be considered.

Speaking after the hearing Steve Bartram said: “After the licensing committee hearing last month I felt a profound sense on injustice. It was ridiculous that the council stopped a charity boxing event, organised to raise money for a worthy cause. There were no noise complaints at the last boxing event, and the noise complaints against The Hangar which relate to other events are basically nonsense.

“I now hope that the council officer who has been against our venue reconsiders his stance and starts to support our venue, which I believe is important for the community of Milford Haven.”