AN ANDOVER networking group say they have been left feeling disappointed after being turned away by a theatre's cafe.

Andover Coffee & Business Networking, a non-profit networking group organised by Cathy Vass, was recently not allowed to hold a meeting at The Atrium Café Bar at The Lights. 

The group, which is made up of 25 to 30 people, successfully held their meeting in the same venue in November 2022. 

The members of the group liked it due to its central location and Cathy tried to organise their February meeting there as well.

Due to the size of their group, Cathy rang up in January to confirm that this was okay - but says she was left feeling upset a few weeks later when she received a call from the venue.  

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She said: "A man said that if 'it's more than six people, you have to book a room' and that we would 'put off other people coming in'.  

"I tried to explain that we have met there before, which they agreed to, but they still determined we couldn't come. I was really surprised and shocked that The Lights were not supporting other business owners."

Cathy told the group what had happened and she said they were equally shocked. 

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As a result, their February meeting was held at the Army Flying Museum, but some people struggled to make it due to its location. 

However a spokesperson for The Lights said they would encourage the group to get back in touch - and they apologised for any misunderstanding.

They said: "We welcome groups of people to our Atrium Café Bar, whether that be for social reasons, remote working, informal business meetings or networking. 

"However, we do ask that if the group is going to be more than six that someone make contact with us in advance, as the café may have other events happening at the same time, and we may need advance warning to ensure that we have capacity. 

"If larger gatherings are planned on a more regular basis then it is likely that we would look at alternative room arrangements, as our café seating area has a set capacity, which can often be full with regular daily customers. 

"We are saddened to hear of their frustrations as we would never seek to turn away such groups, and instead we try to find the best way to accommodate them."