A primary school’s plan to host events for up to 1,500 people has been approved, despite neighbours branding the idea ‘horrific’.

The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) of Combes Primary School in Arborfield applied to Wokingham Borough Council for a wide-ranging premises licence.

The licence includes being able to host events for up to 1,500 people, serving alcohol, playing live music, and watching films every day of the week.

Hannah Wilson, chairwoman of the PTA, argued that powers given would only be used on an ad-hoc basis, and would mainly be used to boost numbers of the school’s annual ‘Laser Works’ event held in November.

Ms Wilson told the Wokingham Borough Council Licensing and Appeals Hearings Sub Committee on September 24 that her PTA only wanted to sell 50 to 100 more tickets on top of around 500 attendees.

The wide range of things being applied for were simply so they did not need to apply for more in the future, Ms Wilson said.

Mrs Wilson said: “We are not going to be running significantly larger events; we don’t have the resources.

“I can’t get people to volunteer for 20 minutes, so getting people to volunteer seven days a week until 11 o’clock is never going to happen.”

But two neighbours to the school voiced their concerns over the plans.

Joy Meaton, who lives two doors down from Coombes Primary said the application covering ‘every single day from morning to night is horrific’.

The resident argued that events would ‘escalate’ given the scale of what was presented by the application, and worried that issues with parking and noise would only worsen.

But Ms Wilson said that her team had ‘no plans for a full on rage’, and were simply applying for ‘pretty standard hours’ for these types of applications.

Council officers noted that because the licence was being granted for the premise of the school and not the PTA, it would be possible for more large-scale events to take place under different management in the future.

The chairman of the subcommittee Councillor Marc Brunel Walker said: “When you look at the application, obviously it could be viewed as horrific from some things you’re wanting to do, and I can very much understand why the hours are causing angst and real concern for the local residents.”

Despite concerns, the subcommittee decided to grant Coombes Primary School a full premise licence following the meeting with Ms Wilson and neighbours on September 24.