Alcohol ban brought in at East Sussex holiday park after death of father of six is lifted

In a decision notice published on Tuesday (September 13), a Rother District Council licensing panel has lifted a ban on the sale of alcohol at the Parkdean resort in Camber Sands.

According to the document, the ban had been brought in as an ‘interim step’ as part of a licence review process. The review had been requested by Sussex Police following the death of Michael McDonagh, a 53-year-old father-of-six, at the resort in August.

While the panel lifted the ban, councillors ordered the holiday resort to ensure it had an adequate number of Security Industry Authority (SIA) door staff working on the premises from now on.

Through new conditions added to its licence, the resort is now required to have at least four SIA staff working on the premises on any given evening. This minimum number rises to seven during weekends in its peak summer season.

The decision notice reads: “The panel was satisfied on the witness statements of the police officers that, on the balance of probabilities, it was more likely than not that the number of SIA security staff at the premises was insufficient and that there were occasions when guests had consumed excessive alcohol leading to anti-social behaviour.”

“The panel was informed that extensive discussions had taken place between the police and the premises licence holder (PLH) since the last hearing.

“This had resulted in an agreement between the parties that the proportionate outcome to this review would be the addition of a condition requiring a specific number of SIA security for each day of the week during peak trading and a different number for each day of the week during off-peak trading.”

The decision follows on from a licence review hearing held in a private session on September 6. It had been held in private due to its connection to the ongoing investigation into Mr McDonagh’s death.

However, the decision notice makes mention of ‘numerous incidents’ in the Sussex Police review application, some of which were ‘very serious’. Details of these other incidents have not been made public, due to the review’s connection to the ongoing investigation.