The director of a popular watersports park is squashing fears of “nightly raves” after his request to hold more events at the site was approved.

Wayne Cooper, owner of Whitemills Wake & Aqua Park in Sandwich, submitted an event management plan to Dover District Council earlier this year.

The report outlined how no more than three events would be held at the park in Ash Road each year, with music only played until 11pm at the latest to ensure people who live nearby are not disturbed.

It comes as neighbours of the aqua park - which has an inflatable obstacle course and offers wakeboarding - raised concerns over “nightly raves” at the venue, which opened in 2022.

A video shared with KentOnline appears to show music coming from the aqua park.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, told KentOnline how their children, who are seven and nine, were left unable to sleep as “it was like there was a party in the next room” because of music being played at Whitemills in August 2023.

They said: “They had loudspeakers on during the day making general announcements which weren’t too bad and at nighttime, it turned into a rave.

“We’re really concerned that it’s going to continue.

“We moved here 15 years ago and we’re concerned it's going to get worse.

“If they had said in advance they were going to be having an event then it wouldn’t be as bad.”

But Mr Cooper has shut down fears that the venue will become a “nightclub” and says the park is a great tourism boost for the district.

“I think the neighbours are getting worried that it will be every weekend but it’ll only be a maximum of three times a year,” he said.

“They’re not massive events like at stadiums – they’re nowhere near like a major event.

“Last year we had the UK National Championships and a bit of music in the evening.

“Then the week after we had a band on from 7pm until 9pm and we checked the decibel levels and the readings were well within the average.

“It’s not going to be like a nightclub every evening.”

He added he is keen to invest in the water park as more people become interested in wakeboarding.

“People from day one have been opposed to the wake park. It’s frustrating because the park has been successful but there’s always someone out there,” he said.

“No matter what we do, I feel like we’re never going to stop them moaning.

“What we do is encouraging people to the area – it’s a good thing and this is why I’m spending all this time and money on making an events management plan.

“Even the council are on board with us because of the tourism that we encourage to the area.”

The plans explain that any events at the site will end by midnight and music will play no later than 11pm.

In regards to noise, it says the loudspeaker system will be “carefully configured to provide coverage of the audience area without excessive overspill and will be installed early enough to enable alignment and orientation to be optimised to minimise noise disturbance at the nearest noise-sensitive receptors”.

Work will also be undertaken to minimise “traffic flows through local villages, in particular, the village of Sandwich” and the “safe manoeuvring of vehicles in and around the site”.

The first event planned for the venue is a European competition, organised for the end of June.

Soon, Whitemills Wake & Aqua Park will not be the only watersport park in the area.

This month, a huge surf park was approved to be created at former colliery, Betteshanger Country Park – just five miles up the road.

It will be able to create more than 20 different wave types from 50cm to 2m, providing rides of up to 15 seconds long for all ages and abilities.

A luxury hotel and spa was also approved for the land.