Concerns about noise and anti-social behaviour prompted neighbours to oppose a bakery’s plans to sell alcoholic drinks alongside its food at Fiveways.
The Flour Pot Bakery already serves hot food as well as bread and cakes at its new branch in King’s Parade, Ditchling Road, on the corner of Hythe Road, Brighton.
The application for a drinks licence led to 27 letters of objection and a petition in support containing 133 signatures.
The bakery’s owner, Jupiter Catering Limited, which is run by Flour Pot founder Oliver Hyde, held talks with Sussex Police. They agreed that alcohol should be on sale only between 10am and 10pm.
If the company’s application is approved, the premises would have a “café/bar licence” which would require substantial food to be available at all times.
Neighbours in Hythe Road and Ditchling Road shared their worries about increasing noise and the potential for anti-social behaviour at a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing.
Hythe Road resident John Griffin spoke for his neighbours, voicing concerns about the potential for alcohol-fuelled anti-social behaviour from the outdoor seated area in their street.
He said that neighbours were already experiencing increased noise since the business opened last year from waste collections, deliveries and staff setting out tables and chairs in the morning.
Mr Griffin said yesterday (Thursday 17 March) that people’s homes were overlooked by customers, causing a loss of privacy.
He said: “There are concerns that off-licence sales would cause anti-social behaviour and disorder through the consumption of alcohol on the street and in open spaces – and there would be an increase in crime and disorder.”
And he said, if councillors decided to grant the licence, neighbours would want alcohol sales to start at noon and end at 6pm from Sunday to Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays, they would want drinks served no later than 8pm outside and 9pm inside.
Neighbours were also concerned that the patio at the rear of the premises would also be used as a customer seating area.
Conservative councillor Dee Simson told Mr Griffin that the panel could address most of the issues if it granted a licence and attached “very strong” conditions because, without a licence, many of those concerns would continue.
Ditchling Road resident Jeane Lepper, a retired councillor and former chair of the council’s Licensing Committee, said that Fiveways had changed in the 42 years that she had lived there.
There were fewer family businesses, she said, and more cafés which close by the evening. She added: “We accept we live in a noisy area during the day but we do expect it to be a lot quieter in the evening.
“This particular application is totally inappropriate in a residential area, enabling the potential of public nuisance to upset the general atmosphere of Fiveways as it has existed for many years.”
Mrs Lepper said that the Fiveways pub’s outdoor seating closed at 9pm and the Flour Pot’s outside area was already generating a lot of noise without alcohol.
The bakery chain boss Mr Hyde said that he wanted to offer cocktails with brunches and beer and wine with meals to customers seated at tables and served by waiting staff.
He added that the business had had a similar operation in King’s Road Arches, on Brighton seafront, since 2016, within the council’s “cumulative impact zone” where tougher rules affect premises serving alcohol.
Mr Hyde said: “We are outside the zone (at Fiveways) but committed to the same stringent stance to ensure having a premises licence will in no way contribute to crime and disorder or nuisance. We will continue to act to protect public safety and children from harm.
“Our family-friendly café and restaurant is a unique offering in the area, welcoming a diverse customer base of all ages.”
After Mr Hyde and Sussex Police held talks, they agreed that it would be acceptable for the outdoor seating to close at 9pm.
Mr Hyde agreed with a proposal to restrict the outdoor area to “restaurant conditions” from 7pm to 9pm, requiring customers ordering drinks to have substantial food and be served by waiting staff.
Labour councillor Clare Moonan asked if restaurant conditions would be more suitable for the whole business, to prevent people from sitting around drinking all day.
Mr Hyde said that he wanted the more relaxed “café conditions” rather than “restaurant conditions” because they were better suited to the premises’ casual approach, with customers popping in during the day and with food available.
He responded to neighbours’ concerns, saying that there were no plans to operate as a late-night bar or off-licence or for music to be played outside.
The time of rubbish collections had already been restricted to between 7am and 7pm and agreed as a condition with environmental health officers.
There were no plans to use the rear patio for customer seating, he said.
The panel retired to make its decision which should be made public within five working days.
