A cocktail bar can open earlier on Sunday mornings despite objections from neighbours.
The Brighton Cocktail Company, in Dyke Road, applied to Brighton and Hove City Council to be permitted serve alcohol from 10am to 10.30pm on Sundays.
The business was opening at noon on Sundays. But company director Shannon Severy, 29, told a virtual council licensing panel that they missed out on much of the day’s brunch and breakfast trade.
After the hearing, the panel – comprising councillors Julie Cattell, Joy Robinson and Alison Thomson – said that the venue could open earlier – at 11am – after hearing from concerned neighbours about noise.
Jane Collins, who has lived in Montpelier Crescent for 30 years, said that neighbours had not experienced noise from the venue under previous operators or from the nearby pub, the Crescent.
Another neighbour, Claudia Nella, who works from home throughout the week and at weekends, said that the noise started in the afternoon and became louder as the day went on.
A decision letter from the council said: “The panel was very mindful of the concerns of the residents about the noise from the garden in general but also had to focus on the limited variation applied for rather than a review of the licence as a whole.
“The panel did canvass an earlier closing time for the garden in the evenings but the applicant was reluctant to commit to this and the panel are unable to impose such a condition in the context of this application.
“The panel considers that opening at 10am on a Sunday is too early and, in light of what we have heard, is likely to undermine the prevention of public nuisance licensing objective.
“However, the panel will permit a more limited grant to open and sell alcohol from 11 am on Sundays on the basis that it is likely to be relatively quiet at this time and not cause a nuisance.”
At the hearing, on Tuesday 25 July, the panel asked Ms Severy to continue working with her neighbours to reduce noise nuisance at sensitive times of the day.
The company was granted an off-sales licence for its “cocktails by post” service which did not prompt any objections.
What a pity the members of the panel do not live near the premises. They might not be so eager to grant permission. Part of the problem with noise in pubs, bars, cafes and restaurants is due to the loud and totally unnecessary piped music (muzak!) going on in the background. There seem to be fewer and fewer places in Brighton and Hove where one is not bombarded with this racket, making conversation impossible without one having to shout, making the noise even louder. And as for wanting to go somewhere on one’s own for quiet read, just forget it. No doubt it is the policy of the companies running these establishments to have this going on, but it would be interesting if they were to actually ask their customers if they really want this. So many people to whom I have spoken really hate it.
So I feel sorry for those neighbours who will have to live with it, especially on a Sunday morning.
It’s about throughput. Energetic bars and pubs sell quickly, then people tire out and go home, leaving more room for new punters. Slow, quiet venues have customers “clogging up” seats but not consuming products fast enough to make up for it. With the tightened profit margins publicans are facing, there’s no room for quiet boozers any more.
That’s an interesting explanation. But I find that the “clogging up” seats in cafes are usually taken by people with their laptops and one cup of coffee.
Noise lol yeah that’s what happens when you live in a hahaha city???
Good. More people enjoying themselves, more local businesses doing better, more money into Brighton’s economy