Woodland wedding courts trouble
21 June 2007 04:36
It was a magical woodland wedding ceremony in a candlelit chapel of love, with straw bale pews and an organ.
But the all-night party celebrating the marriage of David and Sarah Alston ended in a court conviction – and a post-wedding bill, of fines and costs, totalling more than £9,000.
For the dance music pumping from the outdoor venue near Cromer, ironically including a live band called Dead Silence, was in breach of a council noise abatement notice.
Supply teacher Mr Alston, 45, and his brother Rob, 48, both from Low Common, Alby, who were the joint landowners of the Bartle’s Wood party site, denied the breach, but were found guilty by magistrates yesterday.
David Alston was fined £750, Rob Alston £500 and both – members of a well-known Norfolk farming family – ordered to pay costs of £4,000.
Afterwards David and his wife, who is a designer, were angry that they had been taken to task over their legal party, done in co-operation with the authorities, when many illegal raves were escaping court action.
The wedding party, attended by more than 300 guests last August, also featured a home-made beach of 50 tonnes of sand, a hot-tub, a tee-pee, casino, as well as football, cricket and sumo-wrestling fun for the guests. The marriage was formalised at a register office a few days later.
But it was the all-night music which upset neighbours at a nearby camp site, who complained to the council and saw the breaches of a noise notice which had been served the day before the party in a bid to keep amplified music in check.
Cromer magistrates heard that people camping at the Deer’s Glade site, at Hanworth, complained – resulting in North Norfolk District Council environmental protection officer Davina Romaine visiting the party, on the weekend of August 5-6, and reporting three breaches.
David Alston said he notified the police, council and neighbours of the party, and said they could have an invitation if they wanted.
During the event he liaised with Miss Romaine, turning the music down when advised, and checked with the council call centre for complaints, but was unaware of any problems before the breach was notified.
He also said the caravan park put up a notice saying they would try to stop the party, “giving the false impression it was an unpleasant affair” causing holidaymakers to view it as a nuisance rather than a mild irritation.
David Alston added that the type of music being played – a mixture of drum and bass, techno and reggae – may have affected people’s perceptions, with one witness having said she would have found it less intimidating if it had been the sound of Abba.
Barrister Matthew McNiff, for the council, said the case was simply about whether the notice had been breached, which was a subjective decision by the official using either ears or electronic equipment.
The “boom, boom” could also be a nuisance if it was no louder than background noise but was out of character to the area – and the Alstons could have simply turned the music off, as they had done during the wedding ceremony so they could speak or be heard.
Tony Williams, chairman of the bench, said the Alstons’ attempts at co-operation were not the same as compliance, but that the breach was negligent rather than intentional.
The level of fines, which could have been a maximum of £5,000, reflected their previous good character, and Rob Alston’s lesser involvement.
David Alston told the magistrates he was devastated the matter had ended up in court.
Afterwards he added that they would consider appealing, as it was “ridiculous” the council had picked on a wedding, while Sarah said it did not send out a very good message to youngsters who might be encouraged to hold illegal raves, having seen
the problems a legal party had suffered.
Council environmental protection team leader Mark Whitmore said they worked hard to allow the party to take place by talking to the Alstons, but their “failure to comply with reasonable requirements” resulted in the court action, adding: “While this party was not all illegal rave, the effects were the same on local residents.”
But despite the hefty price they paid, the bride and groom felt the event was “still all worth it – it was the best day of our lives”.
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