A noise and disturbance complaint made against a wedding venue in a hamlet near Luton has been dismissed by North Herts Council.

The authority's licensing sub-committee on Monday, October 5th concluded that there was no evidence to support allegations that The Barn in Tea Green had breached licensing objectives.

David Sample, clerk of Offley Parish Council, had complained about noise from the wedding venue, fireworks being let off, banned drones being sighted, and staff and guests parking on the village green and in front of residents' driveways.

But Tofik Miah and Michael O'Malley, who took over the venue three years ago, disputed the allegations and said they had "done everything we can to try and improve the cosmetics of the premises [and] to work with the community to keep the noise down as much as possible".

The sub-committee's chair, Cllr Dave Winstanley, said they had "not found, on the evidence presented, any breach of the licensing objectives."

Mr Miah said the parish council's case was based on "hearsay" rather than "facts", and suggested the complaint against his venue was "vindictive".

He said that the venue, which hosts around 40 events a year, does not allow drones or fireworks on their premises, and provides marshals to ensure cars are parked appropriately.

Mr Miah added that, although the venue's licensing conditions allow them to remain open until 1.30am, their events "generally" finish at 11pm.

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"We're just trying to run a family-run business for the local community," he said. "We're a business. We need to be afforded every opportunity to run a business.

"Why should we be penalised for something that hasn't happened? If there is evidence, provide it, and we will act upon it."

The parish council's representative, Mr Sample, said he was "amazed at the variety of words the licence holder has been using" and added that information passed to the district council's environmental health officers "shows there is noise up until 1am".

He said that complaints about the venue had been made "on a regular basis throughout the year", and that the parish council's representation had been put forward "on behalf of the residents of Tea Green"

Neither Environmental Health nor the police made any representations for the committee to consider.