Residents living near an East Hampshire wedding venue say they are “at breaking point” after years of noise, traffic and disruption.

At a three-day East Hampshire District Council licensing hearing, neighbours described life near Froyle Park as being dominated by “intolerable” loud celebrations and late-night departures — particularly during the summer months.

Froyle Park, a 15th-century manor house in Upper Froyle, operates as a hotel and wedding venue and has held a premises licence since 2014. It is now run by brothers Charles and Douglas McNeil, who took over in 2023.

For residents, however, what was once a quiet rural village has, they say, been transformed.

Michael Washington, representing the Upper Froyle Residents Group, told the committee he moved to a property around 65 metres from the venue in 2022 expecting the occasional wedding in an otherwise peaceful setting.

Instead, he said, the reality has been constant disruption.

“When guests start to arrive and park, we hear everything — conversations, cars, people changing. We understand it’s a wedding, but this is in the morning.”

He described noise continuing throughout the day — from ceremonial drumming and chanting to music and shouting as guests left in the evening.

“They come down the lane and start partying. It’s noisy and disruptive.”

On one occasion, he said he approached guests to ask for quieter behaviour but was met with swearing. “It was extremely unpleasant,” he said.

He added that the impact had reshaped family life to the point their grandchildren does not visit them anymore.

“During the summer, we can’t use the garden. We don’t have our children and grandchildren around because it’s too much disruption.

“My wife suffers from it mentally. I do as well but I just don’t like to show it. So, yes, it does have an impact in our family, a direct impact, no question.”

Dr Alexandra Roberts, who has lived around 75 metres from the site since 2003, said the village was once defined by quiet and that the only noise she could hear was a tractor.

She said problems began after weddings were introduced in 2014 and, in her view, in 2023, when the new owners took the place, things “gone downhill again”.

“There’s been more noise and an increase in weddings. Residents feel complaints haven’t been taken seriously.”

She also raised concerns about guest behaviour, including incidents involving drunken guests and disorder near the site, recalling one occasion where “two or three” drunk guest were vomiting and throwing up into the road.

For Sam Jacobs, who lives directly next to the venue, disruption has become part of daily life.

“We are woken before 8am when suppliers arrive — talking, shouting, unloading vehicles.”

From there, he said, the noise rarely stops — from prolonged garden maintenance to large-scale wedding activity close to his home.

On busy wedding days, hundreds of guests can be just metres from his property.

“On one side there are 300 people, on the other side there’s me.

“It was a particular difficult year. There was no day where we had more than six hours of peace for that being disturbed by a noise nuisance.”

He described the experience as a “constant bombardment”, adding: “There is nowhere in my house that you can avoid the noise. The noise is overwhelming. We were incredibly unhappy during those months. It’s just a constant bombardment.”

Responding to the complaints, the owners said they did not accept claims that they had been unresponsive or solely profit-driven.

One of the brothers, Mr Douglas McNeil, said that residents made their deputations trying to make the impression the brothers were “unresponsive”, “uncaring”, “hostile” and that they “only care about profit”.

Mr McNeil said: “I don’t think the venue is perfect, and I accept that there has been some disturbance to local people, we’re not disputing that.”

He said improvements had been introduced, including soundproofing, additional staff, signage, designated “silent zones” and changes to outdoor equipment use.

The owners also suggested there had been a local campaign to increase complaints ahead of the licensing review.

“We’ve seen leaflets, posts on residents’ groups. We don’t agree with the characterisation of the venue in the monthly newsletter of the parish council, but we also don’t wish to personalised this, tomorrow we will go back to be neighbours.”

As a result, the committee heard that the cumulative impact of noise, traffic and the frequency of events was having a significant effect on residents’ quality of life.

Following the hearing, the council agreed to modify the venue’s licence and introduce a number of new conditions aimed at reducing disruption.

Traditional dhol drumming is now limited to 50 performances a year, with no more than two players at a time and a maximum duration of 10 minutes per event.

Outdoor performances are restricted to the front fountain area and allowed only between 11am and 6pm. Drone use is capped at one per event for up to 10 minutes.

Outdoor ceremonies must end by 6.30pm, while no amplified music is permitted outdoors at any time. Indoors, doors and windows must remain closed when amplified music is played.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

The rear garden must be closed to guests after 10.30pm, with set-up prohibited before 8am. A one-way traffic system will also be introduced from 8am to manage departing vehicles.