Campsite near Cooksbridge granted alcohol licence

On Thursday (August 20), Lewes District Council issued its decision to allow the sale of alcohol at The Secret Campsite – a business based at Brickyard Farm near Cooksbridge.

The decision follows a hearing last Friday (August 14), where campsite operators Tim and Lisa Bullen spoke of their plans to sell “locally-produced” alcohol from a reception building on site, which currently sells firewood and other miscellaneous supplies to campers. 

At the hearing, Mr Bullen said: “We are applying for a drinks licence so that we can sell locally-produced products.

“We see this as an opportunity to support other small local businesses and as a chance for campers to enjoy local produce they may otherwise not encounter.“

“Campers currently bring their own personal supply of alcohol [and] most of this has been bought outside of the local area.”

Mr Bullen said all these sales would only be made during reception hours, which is open no later than 7pm.

He also confirmed that they would be happy to accept conditions limiting alcohol sales only to those camping on the site.

Mr Bullen said: “The focus of the campsite is to provide a fantastic habitat for our local wildlife to flourish. 

“In order to provide this we have a few restrictions. We have no groups, no music on the pitches, no dogs, no cars in the campaign areas and after 10pm we have a quiet time for all campers.

“All of these values are promoted on our website and are agreed to by campers at the point of booking.”

The proposals, however, had seen objections raised by neighbours Martin and Ann Janes, who had concerns about noise and antisocial behaviour from campers.

Speaking at the hearing, Mr Janes said: “We wish to register our objections to this application on the grounds that it has the potential to encourage antisocial behaviour, additional noise and disruption in a residential area.

“Currently the campsite markets itself as offering real camping with nature and in the past we’ve appreciated the fact that the applicant has not sought to offer alcohol to the campers as the area is already well-served with licensed premises.

“Within a three-mile radius there are 12 public houses, one licensed restaurant and eight retail outlets offering a range of alcohol from local products to the nationally-available range, the closest being a two-minute walk from the campsite.

“All of these established businesses currently benefit from the fact that trade is generated locally by accommodation providers and thus this supports the wider business community.

“We are concerned that if alcohol was more readily available to campers on the campsite itself, there would be an increase in alcohol consumption and a corresponding increase in noise associated disruption and the potential for increases in antisocial behaviour as a result.”

Despite these concerns, no objections had been raised by Sussex Police, subject to the campsite accepting conditions. These include staff training and the keeping of an incident log.

This view was shared by councillors who agreed to grant the licence.

In the decision notice, a council spokesman said: “The sub-committee noted the concerns of Mr and Mrs Janes but were content that, with the amended conditions, the granting of the licence would not undermine the licensing objectives of the prevention of public nuisance and the prevention of crime and disorder.”

Mr and Mrs Janes said they also had concerns about how the licence would interact with plans to expand the campsite.

The campsite is currently seeking planning permission for an expansion of its current facilities, including the conversion of an existing barn into a “community space” for campers.

The barn, the applicant says, would be a flexible space that could also be used for learning activities and presentations for guests, local schools and youth groups, with a focus on wildlife and conservation education. 

However, the campsite says it does not propose to have a bar area in this space as part of the licensing application and is only seeking permission for takeaway sales from the reception building.

It says it is also aware it would need to inform authorities should the reception building move as part of the expansion plans.

In a separate application, the campsite is also seeking a variation of its existing planning permission to provide an additional three pitches, additional parking spaces and the siting of four “camping pods”.

The camping pods – semi-permanent structures  – would come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

For further information on the campsite’s expansion plans see applications LW/20/0417 and LW/20/0413 on the Lewes District Council planning website.

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