Pictured above: Walaiti Rathore who headed up the Fraser Brown team

Nottingham-based solicitors Fraser Brown has helped the UK's first licensed beach to open to the public.  

The beach, owned by Smugglers Bar Limited, fronts almost a four mile section of the promenade at Ingoldmells in Lincolnshire and is Europe's largest privately owned beach.

The licence applies to a large bar and restaurant and the adjacent beach and promenade, and covers the sale of alcohol and all forms of regulated entertainment. 

Walaiti Rathore headed up the Fraser Brown team for this case: "This was a complex case. Initial consultations began over a year ago with the Police to discuss this application and to agree conditions to address their concerns. Those conditions included risk assessments for larger outdoor events, appropriate security precautions with CCTV installations and the introduction of the Challenge 21 scheme. In short, we were able to present our client as the reasonable and responsible operator it is and which has the wider interests of the community in mind."

Such was the strength of the case, that the Licensing Sub Committee effectively dismissed suggestions by objectors to refuse the application or impose a list of onerous conditions.

Simon Adderley, a director of Smugglers Bar Limited: "I understand that this case was unusual - not least because it is so rare to find a beach of this size and situation in private ownership. We had a vision when we bought it some five years ago to transform the area. We can now go ahead with our plans to rebuild the beach bar and add a mobile stage capable of accomodating larger entertainment events. Overall we will be investing something in the region of £1.4 million which we believe will benefit the entire area, already considered the fastest growing tourist resort in the UK with 1.7 million visitors a year to the seafront.

"We intend to create a Caribbean style atmosphere, with free entertainment staged for all groups of visitors within a safe environment. It will attract families back to enjoy a full day out at the beach and revitalise and modernise the British seaside experience. The volume of people that this operation will attract will present an opportunity for all businesses in Ingoldmells to share. 

"Fraser Brown was recommended to me by a number of individuals in the industry because of their specialist experience. I have to say that they have totally lived up to their reputation and that the knowledge and experience offered by the team has been invaluable. I believe that our win represents the longest licensing process in Lincolnshire history."

The new beach bar opened with a beach party on Sunday 24 May.