Despite numerous objections from local residents Panacea were granted a variation to their premises license by the Licensing Act Sub-Committee yesterday.
The controversial decision will enable Panacea to extend their closing time for all licensable activities, with the exception of late night refreshment, from 03.00 to 04.00 Monday to Saturday and from 02.00 to 03.00 on Sundays. In relation to late night refreshment they have been granted an extension from 02.30 to 03.30 Monday to Saturday and from 01.00 to 02.30 on Sundays.
Additionally the application included a request to permit certain forms of regulated entertainment outdoors, including live music, recorded music and performance of dance, and to remove the requirement that no external speakers should be operated at the premises.
One resident of Lynton Lane expressed his concerns, "Quite apart from the noise of the outside entertainment, there is bound to be an increase in the consequential appalling drunken and rowdy behaviour which we already have to suffer.
"Quite apart from the noise from those premises themselves, there is also the problem of cars being parked (illegally) all along the west-side pavement of Lynton Lane. The danger of parking is aggravated for the local residents by the noise of the revellers returning to their cars at an ungodly hour of the morning."
The Parish Council were also strongly opposed to the application at their meeting last month where Councillor Mary Maczkowiak said "I can hear Panacea from my house just off Heyes Lane. If approved this application will set a precedent that will continue in to the village" and Councillor Alan Jones added "It is unnecessary to have that potential for noise until that time in the morning."
Prior to yesterday's meeting Panacea had agreed to the conditions set out below with the Environmental Health Service:
- There will only be two speakers.
- The two speakers will be mounted on the road-side elevation of the premises no more than one meter above existing door height openings and directed downwards.
- There shall be a curfew of 23.00 on the use of the two external speakers.
- To facilitate the condition above, there shall be a separate volume and on/off control dedicated to the two external speakers under the sole control of senior management.
- That the music from Panacea shall be inaudible at the boundary of noise-sensitive dwellings.
The Sub-Committee noted that some of the objections appeared to be historic and related to the previous operator and whilst there were a number of objections from local residents, relating to parking on residential streets and the behaviour of individuals, it was pointed out that these had not been substantiated by a record of complaints.The Sub-Committee also noted that the licence holder cannot be held responsible for the anti-social behaviour of patrons once they are outside the vicinity of the premises.
Taking these points into account the Sub-Committee stated that "they would find it difficult to reach a conclusion that the application, as amended, would cause harm to the licensing objectives." They therefore granted the variation to the Premises Licence subject to the imposition of the agreed conditions above.
Joe Akka, the owner and founder of Panacea said 'We are delighted that our application was successful, as this will provide us with greater flexibility moving forwards. We are also very pleased to now be able to offer background music to those dining on our terrace."
Comments
Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.
I fully expect that Panacea will break these regulations, especially the use of the external speakers after 23:00.
I can only hope that the changes will be regularly monitored by the local authorities and if the conditions are broken that they are fully prosecuted and the extensions revoked.
He pointed out that having a history of complaints is an important issue, otherwise, as was the case with the Panacea licence extension last week, the complaints received by local residents cannot be substantiated.
A record of complaints could also be of use when challenging existing licences. As the committee highlighted last week "should problems relating to the licensing objectives be linked to the operation of licensable activities at this premises then Responsible Authorities or Interested Parties may call for a review of the licence at any time."
We will publish more information about the Parish Council's plans for a register of complaints shortly.