An historic Derbyshire stately home can now host music festivals with a capacity of up to 5,000 people, despite concerns over noise and parking.

South Derbyshire District Council granted a premises licence for Crow Park, which is part of the Melbourne Hall estate, owned by the Marquis of Lothian on Friday.

Councillors approved the plans from Raymond Gubbay Ltd, owned by Sony Music, to be able to host one three-day event per year, for a maximum of 4,999 people.

Residents feared the impact of another festival, due to already managing the impact of Download Festival, Donington Racetrack and East Midlands Airport.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said the event would involved live music and alcohol sales from 12:00 until 22:30 from Friday through to Sunday.

The applicant said there would be no overnight camping, meaning attendees would leave and return should they buy consecutive tickets, as weekend tickets would not be available.

Roger Lowe, on behalf of the applicant, said this event series would not be comparable to the rock music festival, Download, hosted at Donington Park, just two miles away.

Mr Lowe told the hearing: "Download is for 120,000 people, it is a very different type of event to one for 4,999 people.

"The type of event will be comedy nights and music that is compliant with the noise limit (65 decibels), which should tell you something about the sort of music it would be.

"Much of what is being discussed is negative. People are going to be spending money in shops and pubs and that is a positive, that is why many businesses are supportive of this."

Mr Lowe said on-site parking would be free of charge and that traffic management plans would be drawn up by the same company that handles Download Festival.

Two car parks, containing 1,170 spaces, would be constructed on fields to the east of Melbourne, south of Blackwell Lane.

'Not suitable'

A Melbourne resident who did not wish to be named told the hearing: "Melbourne has a population of 5,264.

"This event over three days would see the entire population of Melbourne squeezed onto one field in Blackwell Lane.

"I am concerned about the sheer volume of people that would be trying to get in and out of Melbourne for the event. A lot of residents are going to be significantly disrupted by this."

Resident, David Mill, said road closures and diversions would push the issue elsewhere.

"This is an outstanding reason why Melbourne Hall is not suitable for such events", said Mr Mill.

Dot Devey-Smith said drivers who are unfamiliar with the area would increase traffic problems.

"Unfamiliar drivers would be coming down this narrow road and you can't require people to park in the parking area provided and there are already very few spaces to park in Melbourne.

"Residents are going to end up without their places to park," she said.

The licensing panel said they considered the parking concerns and granted approval for the premises license on the conditions that details of each event are provided to residents and the parish council.

The panel added that a traffic management plan must be submitted 30 days before the planned events.

A Surrey wildlife charity is raising money to keep its animal hospital running.

Harper Asprey Wildlife Rescue, headquartered at land owned by Queen guitarist Brian May near Windlesham, has been saving injured animals for over 30 years.

Anne Brummer started the organisation after rescuing a hedgehog stuck in a chain link fence, and it has grown to have nearly 50 active volunteers, including their rock star host.

"We now have full-time vets with us but that comes at a massive cost," she said.

The group's dedicated wildlife hospital has been operating since 2019.

Ms Brummer said: "It's worth it because the animals that come in get the best treatment at the vital time when they need it."

In addition to providing space at his property and supporting the group's campaigns, Mr May gets involved in looking after the animals.

"Guitarists aren't much use to the rescue, so to us he is a worker," Ms Brummer said.

"He is very good at communicating with people and gets involved in it at every level."

The charity looks after foxes, badgers, hedgehogs, deer, or "anything that's in the UK that's wildlife".

"We can have any one of 750 animals come in through the door, and it's like a procession of aliens really. There's not a lot of data out there on them so the vets are using all their expertise," Ms Brummer said.

She added: "We are trying to raise funds to get more equipment in the surgery, and to also get together a database so that we can store all this data for other people to access."

The charity's costs include medication, equipment maintenance, and insurance.

"We are constantly striving to get more equipment," Ms Brummer said.

She added that the hospital "is constantly accident and emergency" while vets for domestic pets can deal with pre-arranged, routine appointments.

The charity sometimes finds itself in the "absolutely heart-breaking" situation of having to turn away animals because it has reached full capacity.

The flipside to this, Ms Brummer said, was the "most amazing feeling" of releasing animals back to the wild after they have recovered.

In addition to its rescue work the charity runs the Save Me Trust, campaigning for changes to the law.

A suspected grenade has been found in a shed, causing 150 homes to be evacuated.

Police have put up a 328ft (100m) cordon around a property on Gilsland Crescent in Darlington and contacted bomb disposal experts.

The new owner of the property discovered what they suspected was a grenade in a shed and called emergency services, Durham Police said.

The force has asked the residents of 150 homes within the area to leave as it believes the cordon will be in place for some time.

The council have set up the Dolphin Centre as a rest centre for all those affected.

Police have closed several roads around the property and have advised motorists to find alternative routes.

The following road closures are in place:

• Thompson Street East with the junction of Whinfield Road
• Locomotive Street junction with Thompson Street East
• Gisland Crescent Junction with Morpeth Avenue
• Furness Street junction with Ajax Street

Nearby St Bede's Catholic Primary School said it was unaffected but had offered the option of an early pick-up for children with families who might be.