COLCHESTER Zoo has defended a move to sell alcohol and play music at the attraction after nearby residents said it would be a "public nuisance." 

The city council's licensing committee held a meeting to decide the fate of the license bid for the Maldon Road attraction yesterday. 

At the meeting councillors were told of concerns of residents who claimed the nearby busy road would be a danger for "intoxicated pedestrians."

They added: "The level of noise produced by music events would create a public nuisance and impede upon the right to privacy."

But Lynn Woolhead, catering development manager at Colchester Zoo, told the meeting the license would afford the organisation more flexibility. 

She said: “The application is to give us the flexibility to be able to have pop us during special events, for example, to do mulled wine at Christmas, to be able to have entertainment on the stage area.

"If we in the future wanted to show a film, for example a children’s film, The Lion King, or something like that to be able to do that. 

“It’s not a wholesale change to what we do already, it’s just to allow us a bit more of flexibility within the grounds of the park.” 

Mrs Woolhead assured the council it was “not the intention at all” to use the car park for entertainment purposes.

She said the plan was to put to use the stage and the area by the lake for live music, for example during the popular Christmas light trail. 

The zoo has held an alcohol license since 2005 and has never had complaints around the overconsumption or relating issues, Mrs Woolhead said. 

“It is an addition to what people come for, it is not the reason to come there. It’s not ‘we’re going to the Zoo to drink’," she said. 

Regarding noise concerns, Mrs Woolhead said: “We’re not doing anything different to what we’ve done before. I think the odd sound does travel, and that sometimes, as great as it is, hearing our lions roar or hearing the hyenas, there may be tannoy if we have got a lost child or if there’s a car blocking people in.

"The sound at night is purely from the stage area, the nearest residents are actually people that work at the zoo.” 

Zoological director Rebecca Moss said there would not be an impact on the attraction's animals. 

She said: “We don’t plan on doing anything over and beyond what we’re doing now. We obviously have our zoo license that’s granted and we are inspected on the zoo license every three years anyway and at no point it has the animal welfare affected in any previous events.” 

The committee deliberated the application and came to the decision to granted the permission.