New pub in Brighton shopping centre to have licence to 1am

A gastropub company has been granted a drinks licence to stay open until 1am at its new venue in Churchill Square shopping centre, in Brighton.

New World Trading Company convinced a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel that the Botanist would not add to the area’s crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour.

The company initially applied for a licence to serve alcohol from 9am to 2am from Thursday to Saturday and from 9am to 1am from Sunday to Wednesday.

But before the licensing panel hearing on Thursday 2 March, the company offered to close the doors to new customers at midnight, serve drinks until 1am and close by 1.30am.

Sussex Police and the council’s licensing department objected to the application – as did Trace Barnes, landlord of the Prince of Wales pub, in Clarence Square, next to Churchill Square.

Peter Savill, for Sussex Police, told the licensing panel that the force did not object to a licence in principle but was concerned that the Botanist would operate as a late-night bar.

New World did not want to operate under “restaurant conditions” which only permit alcohol to be served with a meal.

Sussex Police licensing officer Mark Thorogood said that the force would consider the less onerous “café conditions”, requiring only that substantial food is “available”, but he remained concerned about the late hours.

Concerns were also raised about “designing out” drugs from the pub’s toilets, with Mr Thorogood saying that “high-end” venues tended to have the most problems.

The council licensing panel granted a licence until 1am, with the doors closing to new customers at midnight, provided that substantial food was always available.

The three councillors making up the panel – Zoe John, Kate Knight and Dee Simson – advised New World to consult with Sussex Police about “designing out” drugs from the venue’s toilets.

It also urged the company to liaise with the police whenever “big screen” events were planned for the Botanist.

Despite tighter licensing rules in the centre of Brighton, the panel also said: “The panel takes very seriously the concerns raised by the police, local business and licensing authority. However, it considers the evidence and arguments presented in support of the application compelling.

“In particular, the submissions as to the nature and characteristics of the operation proposed, the self-contained nature of the premises within Churchill Square, which is not street fronting and within a wider security base, the proximity of transport links, the positive track record of the applicants operating similar premises in challenging areas, the conditions and further modifications made to the application all of which the panel considers mitigate against any likely negative cumulative impact.

“Furthermore, the panel agrees that there are exceptional circumstances in relation to this application as detailed in the material before us and including its importance to the vitality and viability of Churchill Square, the third-party support, the potential for positive impact and contribution to diversity of premises within the night-time economy.”