Key Points
- Berwick Manor Hotel in Rainham is due to appear before Havering Council’s licensing committee after residents complained about noise from events at the venue.
- Councillors adjourned the first hearing because the operator could not attend, and a new date of 6 August has been set.
- Residents told the committee the disruption has had a “massive impact” on family life, with noise, swearing, music and fireworks causing distress.
- The council’s licensing team says complaints have been ongoing since 2021.
- Officers say a sound limiter installed in November 2021 was not being used when checked last August, and the relevant noise management plan was also not being followed.
- The council is not seeking to remove the hotel’s licence entirely, but wants to ban regulated entertainment in the garden area.
- The venue, Berwick Manor Hotel, has been approached for comment.
Rainham (East London Times) July 17, 2026 Berwick Manor Hotel will return to Havering Council’s licensing committee on 6 August after councillors adjourned an earlier hearing, as residents raised concerns over persistent noise from events at the venue. As reported by Sebastian Mann of the Romford Recorder, the licensing sub-committee was originally due to consider the matter this week, but the hearing was put back because the operator could not attend and his legal representative asked for a rescheduled date due to a business meeting.
What did residents tell councillors?
How badly are nearby households being affected by the hotel’s outdoor events? Residents told councillors the disruption has been significant and ongoing. James Eaton said the noise had a “massive impact” on his family both mentally and physically, and said he worried about letting his children go outside when an event was taking place.
He also said he did not want rude words, fireworks after 11pm or offensive language translated to him from the venue’s events.
Another resident said she “just couldn’t cope” with the “swearing, the abuse, the screaming and the music that just thumps”, according to the report by Sebastian Mann of the Romford Recorder.
She also said she could hear “every single word” spoken over the microphone when the door was open because of the heat.
The submissions presented to the committee suggest the complaints are not isolated to one household, but part of a wider pattern affecting several nearby homes.
What is the council saying?
Why is Havering Council taking licensing action rather than seeking to close the hotel? The council’s licensing department is asking for a narrower step than revocation.
According to the Romford Recorder’s reporting, officers are not trying to strip Berwick Manor Hotel of its licence completely, but are seeking a condition that would stop regulated entertainment in the garden area.
Public protection officer George Pater said the hotel’s outdoor events had caused a “persistent and unacceptable nuisance to local residents”, with complaints going back to 2021.
The report also says the council’s concerns were strengthened by evidence that noise control measures introduced in 2021 were not being properly used when officers checked the site in August 2025.
In addition, a noise abatement notice was served in September 2025, and officers later noted that the full sound system did not appear to be in use during a follow-up visit.
What evidence has been put forward?
What has the licensing authority relied on when asking for changes? The Romford Recorder reports that a noise management plan and sound limiter were introduced in November 2021, but licensing officers found by August 2025 that the equipment was not being used.
The same report says officers found music was still audible in residential areas in May 2026, including the voice of a female MC.
Oisin Daly, of the licensing authority, supported the review but warned that “neither additional licence conditions nor further management controls are likely to adequately mitigate the risk of continued nuisance” from outdoor events.
He also raised separate concerns about drug paraphernalia found in an adjacent field and said he had found a small bag of cannabis in the main car park, which was handed to the premises for disposal in a drugs safe. Those points add a wider public safety and environmental dimension to a dispute that began with complaints about noise.
How did the hearing get delayed?
Why was the licensing meeting adjourned? The hearing was delayed because the operator could not attend on the day, and his legal representative asked for it to be moved. Committee chair Councillor Christine Vickery set a new date of 6 August, giving both sides more time to prepare.
The adjournment means the dispute remains unresolved for now, but the committee has already heard evidence from residents and officers about the alleged nuisance.
The venue’s current licence still allows a range of activities, including films, music and late-night refreshment, with some permissions running 24 hours a day.
Alcohol sales and music for non-residents are permitted until 1.30am, while alcohol for guests is allowed around the clock, according to the council papers reported by the Recorder.
What is the wider local context?
How long have residents been raising these concerns? The council says it has been dealing with complaints since 2021.
That timeline suggests the issue has become a long-running local dispute rather than a one-off complaint tied to a single event.
Separate reporting has also shown wider concern around the site, including claims of antisocial behaviour, illegal or dangerous parking, and planning issues linked to events at the hotel.
In one later account, residents said events had continued late into the night at weekends, while local political representatives raised the matter with the council and police.
Those reports indicate that the licensing case sits within a broader pattern of community complaint around the venue.
Background
What has led to this licensing review? The key background is that Berwick Manor Hotel has been under scrutiny from residents and council officers for several years over noise from outdoor events.
A noise management plan and sound limiter were introduced in November 2021, but the council says complaints continued afterwards, and officers later found the controls were not being properly used.
By 2025 and 2026, the issue had escalated to formal enforcement steps, including a noise abatement notice and a licence review application.
Prediction
How could this affect local residents and the venue? If the committee accepts the council’s request, Berwick Manor Hotel may lose the ability to host regulated entertainment outdoors, which could reduce late-night noise for nearby households.
For residents, that could mean fewer disruptions to sleep, outdoor space and family life, which are the main concerns raised in the hearing. For the venue, any new restriction could limit how it uses its garden area for events and may require tighter controls on future operations.
The most likely immediate effect is that the August hearing will determine whether the council chooses a targeted restriction or some other licensing action.
