Residents furious over decision to allow Great Barn to be used for entertainment

Two petitions with a total of 88 signatures and 11 letters, including one from Ruislip Residents' Association (RRA), were sent objecting to the proposal on a number of grounds.

Avril Thornton, of Bury Street, said: "We're in the third nearest house to the barn, which is about 40ft away, and when there's a wedding on we can hear the wedding speech and then there are live bands and discos in the evening.

"The couple who live next door can't even hear their TV when there are events on."

As well as residents and RRA, Eastcote and East Ruislip councillor, Bruce Baker, and Hillingdon Police also spoke against the application at the meeting.

Mr Baker said: "The limited toilet facilities, which are only accessible from outside, are less than adequate for large groups of people and it's quite clear that revellers attending recent events have been using the surrounding area as a public urinal. The resulting health risks are obvious."

Ian Meens, licensing officer for Hillingdon Police, said: "The police concerns were around the managing of a bar for profit. If someone hires the bar and invites strangers in they would be looking to make profit and not looking who they sold to and how much. We wanted to take it away from being a pub to keep it as a private hall.

"The council will now have to make sure a supervisor is present at all functions and the stewards will have to be trained by the Security Industry Authority (SIA)."

The council applied to use the barn every day until midnight. However, the committee decided they could only use it until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays and until 4pm on Sundays.

Jean Palmer, director of planning and community services at the council, said: "Manor Farm is a great asset to Hillingdon and we are pleased that the barn will be able to be used to its full potential for various events, both council and private.

"We will endeavour to minimise disturbance to the local community when events are taking place."