A specialist whisky bar has been granted a drinks licence for the old Trafalgar Wines premises in Brighton.
Sebastian Woolf, the owner of Cut Your Wolf Loose, in Trafalgar Street, Brighton, said that he was “ecstatic”.
A Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel approved his application for a drinks licence, enabling him to offer tasting sessions at his new business.
Mr Woolf said: “It’s nice that the concept and idea were able to come together and it was seen as something that would benefit the area.
“I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t gone through.
“When I have an idea, I try to do it and then tackle the issues. This one was a lot trickier based on the sensitivity of the location, which I get.”
He said that he wanted to create an “institution” in the North Laine for whisky fans.
But he faced opposition from neighbours because Trafalgar Street is in an area where there are already many licensed premises.
As a result of this “saturation”, the council has adopted policies making it harder to obtain a licence to sell alcohol.
The licensing panel was swayed by the fact that he owns the freehold of the former Trafalgar Wines building and was willing to accept strict conditions.
The panel’s decision letter said: “The applicant was keen to stress that he wanted to create a unique space where whisky enthusiasts could sample different types of whisky.
“It would cater to a particular type of clientele and the focus would be on whisky and education about the spirit.
“It would be a very controlled environment and not like a normal bar.”
The conditions limit sales of spirits – on or off the premises – to whisky only.
But a limited selection of craft beers and fine wines can be sold for consumption on the premises.
No more than eight tasting events a month are permitted. During these events, the bar will be closed to the public.
Alcohol sales are restricted to between 11am and 10pm daily.
The garden area must be cleared of customers by 6pm daily, after which only two smokers are permitted in the garden, without drinks.
Mr Woolf will still need planning permission to allow customers to drink on the premises.
His planning agent Lewis and Co is in the process of submitting alternative plans as well as appealing against a planning application which was refused last month.
Hooray, common sense prevailes.