THE owner of the stately home Elmore Court has countered claims it could become a festival destination as feared by parish councillors.
Anselm Guise, owner of the imposing house and grounds in the Severnside village, inherited the court and wants to develop it for weddings and other small private events from November this year.
After two parish councillors expressed concerns that things might get out of hand, he sought to allay fears over loud music and traffic.
Stroud District Council is currently considering an application for a licence which, if granted, could allow recorded music until midnight and live music until 9pm, as well as alcohol to be served.
Mr Guise said the change means the construction of a purpose-built venue to the rear of the main house which he said has been "specifically designed with a major emphasis on sound proofing acoustics so that music played inside this building will not be heard at all by any neighbours."
"There is no intention to ever hold 'festival' style events at Elmore and our licence application has been made totally in line with our planning permission," he added. "The events will be small gatherings, mainly weddings, and we have already consulted with all responsible authorities and worked with Stroud District Council to ensure that everything we do at Elmore will not cause nuisance locally."
Councillor Helen Michael of Hardwicke Parish Council, which is next to Elmore parish, was concerned about extra traffic on narrow roads and feared the idea behind the licence was to stage festivals.
But Mr Guise moved to allay those fears.
Comments about the application must be made in writing to the licensing section at Stroud District Council before May 23.
