A naturist club has been granted permission to host a day-long party, which its managers hope will signal “a new start”.

Eureka, a private members’ club in Fawkham, near Longfield, will be the venue for Good Vibrations Kent Launch Party after Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) approved its licence.

It has been given the go-ahead to serve alcohol outside, and to serve refreshments and host entertainment from midday on Saturday, July 15 until 3am the following day.

The party, which will include a "woodland rave" advertises itself as an “extraordinary event that merges music, nature, and well-being in one extraordinary setting”.

Eureka has previously attracted controversy, with numerous reports of sex offences happening there. It has also made national headlines for hosting swingers’ parties.

Police initially objected to the club’s bid on grounds of public safety.

PC Phil Comben attended SDC’s licensing committee hearing on Tuesday, July 4, telling the panel: “Kent Police’s concerns about the venue itself is that prior to 2018 it was the highest repeat venue for sex offences within Kent.”

“This is a slightly different event to what we’re normally doing. We’re trying to bring in some new people to the venue...”

However, he added that since new management had taken over “we’ve seen a very good turnaround in terms of offences and very few offences have been reported to Kent Police, so we feel we are going in the right direction”.

Jamie Adlem-Moore, whose father Stuart Moore owns and runs the venue, attended the meeting to make the club’s case.

“This is a slightly different event to what we’re normally doing. We’re trying to bring in some new people to the venue,” he said.

“Since I started at the venue I’m trying to bring new life into the place in terms of the wellness side of things.”

The 23-acre private members’ club functions as a naturist spa, but also has a club, bar, swimming pool, jacuzzi and cabins on site for rent.

The club’s website says: “Eureka is a naturist venue so you will find people walking around naked enjoying the grounds, sunbathing naked in the fields or naked around the swimming pool or the spa area as well as clothed and partially clothed.”

It adds: “Eureka really is a place to visit or stay whatever your attire preference.”

At the meeting, Mr Adlem-Moore stressed that the application was only for one outside bar and for playing music outside, which would end by 11pm latest, after which the party would move indoors.

Mr Adlem-Moore also stressed the event would have two shifts of seven security staff, with the same number of marshalls.

The police rescinded their objection, having agreed with the owners to impose conditions on the event which were already on their licence, such as mandatory CCTV, a ban on under-18s attending and a zero-tolerance policy on drugs.

“It’s still a naturist venue, we don’t affiliate ourselves in any way with swingers’ parties...”

SDC’s licensing panel voted to allow the event, which could host up to 300 people, to go ahead.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Adlem-Moore said: “I’m glad that this is hopefully the start of a good relationship with the police and the council and we can move forward and do lots more like it in a safe environment.

“It’s essentially a new start for the place and hopefully getting it away from the name that it might have had in the past.

“It’s basically just a day-long party, and then we’re offering camping. We have cabins on site that people will be renting and that’s to save people having to travel home after when they’re intoxicated.”

He added: “It’s still a naturist venue, we don’t affiliate ourselves in any way with swingers’ parties.

“It’s never an event of a sexual nature, even though we are a naturist venue this has all been about the licensing – and we don’t hold a sex licence.

“We don’t have any events of a sexual nature as such down there, it’s just because of the fact that it’s naturist, people get confused as to what that actually means and might make assumptions.

“I’m just happy that we’ve had the event accepted and I hope to bring many more events somewhat similar in the future, and just open up the place for people to be able to come and experience and feel safe doing so.”