Carry on jousting was the call from councillors as a summer attraction at Warwick Castle was approved for the next five years. 

A temporary two-year planning permission for a jousting arena on River Island within the castle's grounds expired this year with operators Merlin Attractions requesting an extension from Warwick District Council.

It only permits shows from late May until early September but nine objections, whose submissions were based around noise nuisance and loss of amenity in nearby gardens in the summer months, plus the impact on the character of the area, were submitted by members of the public.

There were no objections from statutory consultees with Warwick Town Council showing support on the basis of additional footfall, the knock-on benefits for the local economy and design tweaks that improve accessibility for the disabled. 

Lucy Hammond, one of the planning professionals employed by Warwick District Council, explained that the shows were typically 30 minutes long and put on twice per day during the permitted months, around midday and 3pm. 

The main planning issue related to the heritage of Warwick Castle's listed buildings but the temporary, pop-up nature of the arena gets around that. 

The council's report read: "Given that the proposals remain almost identical to those previously approved and that the temporary nature of the jousting arena is maintained over the proposed five-year period, it is considered that there is no change to the impacts on the relevant heritage assets already considered under the original permission. 

"Both the temporary nature of the jousting arena and the reversible nature of the works have been taken into consideration when assessing this application. 

"Officers remain of the view that less than substantial harm is caused to the significance of Castle Park and listed buildings within the castle complex. However, it also remains the case that there are clear public benefits as identified in the submitted supporting statements which are associated with the proposal that are considered to outweigh this harm.

"The physical changes to the jousting arena are considered minor in nature and do not increase the level of harm associated with the proposal."

Councillors passed no further comment in unanimously voting for the extension which will allow the events to take place through to September 2029.