A Weymouth bar and nightclub's proposal for a licensed festival zone on the harbourside at Custom House Quay has been supported by the town council.

As reported, The Rendezvous is applying for a premises licence for part of the highway outside the venue so that festival events and big screen sports screenings can go ahead at regular intervals throughout the year.

Dorset Council has the ultimate say on whether the application is granted, but last week Weymouth Town Council's Licensing Committee considered the plans, with members unanimously agreeing a vote of no objection.

The committee heard how some residents in nearby streets had concerns about noise levels and people urinating in nearby streets - but reassurance was provided by Rendezvous manager Keith Treggiden, who attended the meeting on Tuesday evening.

Mr Treggiden explained that for the past three years the chain that owns the Rendezvous employs a noise marshal whose role it is to walk up and down Trinity Road, on the other side of the harbour, and radio through to the venue if bass noise is too loud, and that this arrangement will remain in place for future events.

He also said, in response to concerns raised by councillor Jon Orrell about people going to the toilet streets in the nearby vicinity, that the venue had previously tried to secure additional space for portaloos but that Dorset Council had blocked this because the premises area is not large enough to support additional cubicles. "I've always been told 'no' because it's not licensable and it's not part of our area," Mr Treggiden added. "We've been put in a position where we've not been given much to work with."

Dorset Echo: 'Tea on the Quay' in 2016'Tea on the Quay' in 2016

It comes after concerns were raised following the Rendezvous' big screen events during recent football games - which the venue's manager Keith Treggiden was happy to address at the meeting when the issue came up, saying that additional marshals would be on hand to mitigate potential problems.

Councillor Gill Taylor said there have been complaints about litter strewn in nearby streets and on boats in the harbour. Mr Treggiden's response was that it is not physically possible to get to boats from the enclosed festival area, and that the venue takes responsibility for clearing up its own area each day. "But what we do find is that a lot of people want to listen to the festival music and sit nearby and drink their own beer," he added. "When it gets really bad we do our bit to clear those areas of the harbour up too."

Support for the proposal came from councillior Alex Fuhrmann, who said the Rendezvous' Quayside music festivals have been a firm fixture in Weymouth "for many years."

"The application does not appear to be changing anything from the way things worked previously but seems to be more about the highway authority switching from the former WPBC to Dorset Council," he added.

"Weymouth has long been a beacon for New Years Eve celebrations - I ask for councillors to support it to keep Weymouth special."

  • Comments on the licence application can be made by following the instructions at www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/-/comment-on-an-licence-application - to be received before December 22.