A nightspot in Yarm seeking to open for longer in the summer and a Stockton shopowner hoping to sell alcohol will see their bids decided by councillors.
The Keys on Yarm High Street has applied to extend its operational time by an hour during British summer time and extend its finishing time by an hour on a Friday or Saturday four more times a year, going up to 12 times from eight.
The bar, restaurant and nightclub with beer garden currently has conditions on door staff, with a minimum of six on weekends and eight on Sundays before Bank Holidays, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve. It would like to reduce this to three or four door staff minimum on Bank Holiday, Christmas, Easter and New Year weekends, and remove other conditions about door staff numbers.
However environmental health officers “strongly object” to the extra four hours a year, though not to the proposed door staff or British summer time alterations. They argue public nuisance from the “creep of noise” will be more likely and the Keys’ steps to prevent it are “inadequate”.
Environmental health officer Stephanie Landles wrote to the licensing authority: “The environmental health unit does not feel that there are conditions that will prevent further public nuisance issues from this application… Environmental health currently has a pending investigation into the current noise disturbances from this premises and it is not thought appropriate to extend the hours even by four nights as management cannot currently control the alleged disturbances.
“Environmental Health have worked with the management of The Keys regarding noise complaints and allegations of noise (nearly every year since 2003) which the management have tried to control. However, the continual creep of their operational hours is hampering the control that they currently have and there have been several times when additional management requirements have not been completed as the hours get later and hence the surrounding environment gets quieter.
“Apart from a couple of complainants who have made themselves known, many residents have reported issues but then not felt able to continue… some choosing to move rather than proceed.”
Councillor Andrew Sherris has also objected on behalf of residents, citing noise from the building and movement of pedestrians: “The existing hours are already very late and do cause issues for local residents living nearby on the High St, High Church Wynd and The Old Market. Increasing hours will only exacerbate the existing problems.”
James Taylor, the Keys’ assistant general manager, said he had hand-delivered 30 letters to residents along The Wynd inviting them to an open morning to discuss the proposed changes, along with an open invitation on the bar’s Facebook page. He wrote: “The only residents who turned up were a lovely couple.
“We had a good chat where I explained to them what we were wanting to do in terms of the premise licence and they didn’t have any problems with it at all.” A representative for the applicant has been contacted for further comment.
In a separate application, the Akshayan Convenience Store on Rochester Road, Stockton has applied to open from 6am and sell alcohol from 9am, until 11pm on Monday to Saturday, 10pm Sundays.
Cleveland Police has agreed conditions, according to a council report. Applicant Elayarajah Rajaruban said a 24/7 CCTV system would operate with appropriate staff training, age-restricted sales training, posters, strict ID checks for under-25s, staff would be “maximum vigilant” in preventing proxy purchases and two workers would cover late evenings and busy hours to prevent shoplifting and protect children.
A resident saying they represented “the majority of my neighbours” objected on the grounds of preventing crime, disorder and public nuisance, public safety and child protection. They raised issues including “sitting in the bus stop all hours”, littering, violence in the street, noise from cars pulling up and banging doors, and the protection of elderly residents and young families.
The objector wrote: “This is a lovely quiet neighbourhood which we do not want to return (to) the old way.”
Shan Sandanarajah, representing the applicant, said: “I appreciate the residents’ concerns. Very soon they will find out how friendly we are and how we will address any issues, and we will rigorously engage with the locals.
“My colleague has been working in this industry for the last nine years and we take the law very seriously. Things like loitering, throwing rubbish and banging doors, all issues relating to customers’ inconvenience we take seriously.
“Everything is ready to be rigorously implemented. I don’t think the residents are to be worried too much. If you do something, do it properly or don’t do it, that’s the focus.”
Stockton Council’s licensing sub-committee is to decide on both applications later this month.
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