Tudor  Cottage,
Cellar Hill,
Lynsted,
Sittingbourne,
Kent ME9 9QY.

Tel: 01795 521515
Email: robax@lineone.net

Rt.Hon. John Prescott, MP,
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister,
7 Millbank,
London,
SW1P 3JA.

May 7th 2004.

cc Mr H Robertson, MP
     Mr Derek Wyatt, MP.

Dear Mr Prescott,

The need to relax the Public Entertainment Licensing regulations.

I write, as Chairman of the Lynsted with Kingsdown Society, to urge you to relax the severe restrictions imposed by the new Public Entertainment Licence regulations.

Ours is a small, recently established, amenity society that aims to foster an interest, within the community, in the history and natural history of our parish. We are situated in traditional Kentish orchard country. The very first cherry orchards in England were established close-by in the reign of Henry VIII. 

We had planned to attract members of the local community into one of the few remaining traditionally managed cherry orchards, for a concert (local amateur musicians) and picnic event ‘under the trees’.  We were dismayed to find that our early attempt at ‘community capacity-building’ was made impossible by the requirement to pay an entertainment  licence fee of £195. It was simply not feasible to cover this cost, as well as the incidental expenses of the players. What promised to be a most enjoyable event had to be cancelled.  We will have to think seriously about other events with a music or folk-dance content that we had considered holding in our Community Orchard and elsewhere in the parish. 

I therefore ask you please to reconsider these regulations, and to modify the rules. At present they strangle the efforts of small amenity groups such as ours. We are volunteers, trying our best, with limited resources, to bring enjoyment and education to the community and to encourage an appreciation of local heritage. The entertainment regulations, as they stand, are severely inhibiting the Society’s efforts to breathe new life into our community.

We know we are not the only small organisation to be dismayed and frustrated by these licensing arrangements.  I beg you to review and relax these regulations in the interests of the furtherance of rural community life. I look forward to receiving your response to this plea.     

Yours sincerely,

Robert Baxter,
Chairman.