Bid for big events at The Pitches is withdrawn

A BID to hold major events at The Pitches has been withdrawn – after police and the council flagged concerns about public safety.

Pocket Sports Bar Ltd asked for permission to use the land for plays, films, music and dance events – with a capacity of 9,999.

It followed the rejection at appeal in late 2021 of proposals from a linked applicant to build 116 houses on the 9.4-acre site.

The events licence had been expected to be decided by a sub-committee of Rotherham councillors at the town hall last Thursday morning (27).

A South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said there were concerns about the ability of the venue to uphold the guidelines of the Licensing Act around crime, disorder, public nuisance and public safety.

They added: “The grounds of the police objection specifically relate to the fact that the applicant has not provided enough evidence as to how the premise will operate and what measures will be put in place to enable the premises to operate within the guidelines set out in the act.”

Rotherham Council’s environmental health department had also warned that it was unable to agree the granting of the licence. A spokesperson said this was because of concerns regarding noise in the surrounding residential area.

Seventeen objections to the application were published by Rotherham Council ahead of the meeting last week.

Sitwell ward member Cllr David Fisher said: “While I welcome, in principle, the use of the space for community based creative arts and cultural events, I cannot see how this location could safely manage the maximum capacity of visitors quoted, without greatly impacting the local residents in a negative way.”

One resident said: “I live about five minutes’ walk away and I do not want ten hours of music playing and disturbing my peace.

“Also, the problems with traffic it is likely to cause as there is one entrance onto the site. If there is insufficient parking then people will be parking on streets. Even if rubbish bins are provided, people just dump rubbish anywhere.”

Another resident noted how the maximum capacity would be close to that of Rotherham United’s New York Stadium – in a much smaller space.

An RMBC spokesperson confirmed that the application had been withdrawn.