Events ban at Norfolk manor house

The owner of a Norfolk manor house has been told he cannot use the Grade II listed property as a venue for wedding receptions and corporate functions.

Villagers who say their lives have been disrupted by events at Surlingham Manor, near Norwich, breathed a sign of relief after a planning inspector dismissed an appeal by Nick Gooch and upheld an enforcement notice issued by South Norfolk Council. An application for planning permission was also refused.

However, despite the appeal decision, a website promoting the property yesterday continued to describe it as a “beautiful and intimate venue for weddings, private occasions and corporate events”.

At the weekend local residents welcomed the decision and said their lives had been blighted by noise and traffic problems during the summer months.

One said that coach parties would descend on the small rural village and music could be heard nearly a mile away late into the night.

The situation came to a head this summer when a group of residents protested outside the property with banners as wedding receptions were taking place.

At the time Mr Gooch said the problems were being caused by a small number of local people trying to stir up trouble, and it emerged that he had received threats which were being investigated by Norfolk police.

Surlingham resident Peter Hiscocks yesterday spoke of his relief at the decision. “We were concerned, as were Natural England, about the affect this would have on wildlife,” he said.

“We are very glad the matter has been settled and we hope for peaceful nights in the summer and no more disturbance.”

Mr Gooch, chief executive of Pure Property Finders, a property finder and relocation agent, was seeking permission for up to 12 weddings and/or conferences in the grounds of the property with the use of the main house for part of the event, dependant on the nature and size of the event.

In her report planning inspector Lucy Drake said: “The use of Manor House as a venue for weddings and private parties over the last year or so has clearly caused a considerable degree of noise nuisance and disturbance to residents over a wide area in what is otherwise a very quiet rural location.”

In conclusion, said the use of Surlingham Manor for weddings and corporate functions would be contrary to a number of development plan policies, would endanger highway safety and the free flow of traffic, and harm the character and appearance of the area and the setting of the listed building.

She said it also had real potential to cause considerable noise nuisance to surrounding residents, was an unsuitable location and that it had not been proven that it would not have an adverse effect upon the integrity of the nearby European site of nature conservation importance. The appeal therefore fails, she said.

Tags: corporate functions, disrupted by events, highway safety, listed building, Norfolk manor house, Pure Property Finders, Surlingham Manor, wedding receptions

Category: Corporate Events