Church of Scientology in East Grinstead has licence reviewed
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Saint Hill Manor, located in East Grinstead, has its licence up for review after a request to Mid Sussex District Council.
On Wednesday last week (December 10), the council approved the review, which is open to public consultation until Thursday, January 8 next year.
A premises licence is granted by the council and permits venues to carry out a range of different activities, such as selling alcohol, hot food and drinks overnight, putting on entertainment or hosting events.
This comes after the International Association of Scientologists (IAS) event which was held at the premises in October.
The application for the review claims the IAS event causes “considerable disruption” to the local community and licencing objectives are not being met.
It states: “The current Premises Licence allows the Licence Holder to hold events that place immense pressure and stress on limited council resources, blue light services and the Highways authority, coming at a significant cost to the taxpayer.”
The application adds that a public nuisance is being created by the church’s events causing congestion and excessively loud noise,
Following this year’s IAS event, a spokesman for the Church of Scientology in the UK told the Argus: “The Church of Scientology’s annual celebration at Saint Hill, East Grinstead drew over 7,000 attendees from across the UK and around the world.
“The weekend featured traditional bagpipe performances, community festivities, and a gala charity concert supporting local causes.
“The event was a resounding success, generating significant cultural and economic benefits for the area and warmly welcomed by residents.”
It also asks the council to consider limiting the scale of events held on the property and proposes measures are put in place to safeguard vulnerable people.
Content retrieved from: https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/25706427.church-scientology-east-grinstead-licence-reviewed/.
