Councillors have said yes to a couple's proposal to bring an historic church back into use for weddings and other celebrations – but some local residents fear noise from parties will make their lives a misery.

Claire and Cameron Gilchrist-Dick, who moved into the Grade I Listed Barlaston Hall with their three children in 2020, are inviting other couples to tie the knot at their family home. They are working to restore the Grade II Listed St John's Church in their grounds back to its former glory so it can host non-religious weddings and other special occasions such as naming ceremonies.

Part of the church dates back to the 12th Century, with the remainder being rebuilt in 1888, and it remained a focal part of village life into the 20th century. But it was de-consecrated in the 1980s and has been used for storage in more recent years.

The Gilchrist-Dicks have invited villagers back to the church, hosting two open days, and are also planning to organise charitable events in the future. Their dream of opening the estate up for other occasions moved forward on Tuesday (January 31) when Stafford Borough Council granted them a premises licence to allow live music to be performed there, as well as alcohol to be served until 11.30pm.

The plans were not celebrated by everyone in the village however. The council received six objections in response to a consultation on the application which closed earlier this month.

Resident Mark Attwood, who spoke against the application at Tuesday's hearing, said: "We are going to be massively impacted by this. We have the potential of a party over the road from us daily without limit and no amount of noise mitigation will reduce the impact that is going to have on our lives.

"At the moment we are fortunate there is very little background noise in the area we live. We will put up with things if it's once or twice – for example the cricket club will have a bonfire once a year and it's pandemonium with cars abandoned.

"But if it goes on every day of the week it's going to have a massive impact. I know there are lots of residents who are too timid to be here today but they feel exactly the same."

Barlaston Hall (Wikipedia Commons).

The panel was told that a park and ride system would operate for guests attending the private events at the estate, with parking facilities provided elsewhere. There would be parking space available at the venue for guests with disabilities or limited mobility however and there had been no objections to the licence submitted by police, fire service or council representatives.

Mr Gilchrist-Dick said: "We have sat down with the police and gone over the requirements with them. We have seen a number of comments about it being an events centre – we are closest residents to it as we live upstairs with our children.

"These are not concerts or large-scale events and it isn't 365 days a year. I imagine we would probably get 40 to 50 events a year.

"Marquees are not being considered and we are only looking to host weddings and similar events. This is primarily for small social functions and the maximum size would be 100-120 people.

"If we were planning on having a party there every day we would be worst affected. It's our home and what we are trying to do is restore the church."

Panel members agreed to grant the premises licence without imposing any additional conditions. It will enable live music and dance to take place until 11pm, serving of alcohol until 11.30pm and and recorded music until 12am.

Mrs Gilchrist-Dick said: "The last thing we want to do is upset our neighbours. We have held two open days at the church and I have invited people in."

Speaking after the meeting she added: "We're delighted with the decision and we feel it was a fair result. We're delighted we can continue with our plans for the restoration which we have put so much hard work and effort into."

READ MORE: Library Lovers Month: Top borrowed books in Stoke libraries revealed

Free from clickbait, pop-up ads and unwanted surveys, Stoke Nub News is a quality online newspaper for our city.

Please consider following Stoke Nub News on Facebook or Twitter.