Derby: fears Allestree would be turned into Wild West if pub stays open until 1.30am
A Derby pub’s plan to open until 1.30am three days a week has been rejected due to fears that it could turn the area into the “Wild West”.
A Derby City Council licensing hearing was held on Thursday (December 12) and centred on the Woodlands Hotel’s plan to open an hour later than normal between Thursdays and Saturdays.
More than 20 Allestree residents living nearby objected to the plans prior to the hearing because of noise and anti-social behaviour concerns. Decision-makers were told drug use and fighting were two concerns of locals.
One resident warned councillors that allowing the pub to stay open later would turn the area into the “Wild West” and another feared the council would be “inundated with complaints”.
Councillors of the General Licensing Sub Committee ruled that the application was not in line “with an establishment in a residential suburb which is surrounded by houses occupied by families of all ages”.
Lawyers on behalf of the owners of the Woodlands Hotel – the Craft Union pub company – argued that police had not objected to the plans and conditions had been agreed to allow the extended opening times to be granted.
The hearing heard from five residents who live near the Blenheim Parade pub. They objected to the plans for several reasons but claimed they were already being woken up or being disturbed by loud noise late at night – either music, shouting and swearing and violence at or close to the pub.
One resident said: “I don’t understand why there is a need for this to happen at 1.30am. The council could be inundated with complaints. I urge you to dismiss this variation.”
Another resident said: “I’m afraid, and I don’t know the folk (landlord/landlady), they can’t control the drunk. And they can’t control more than one drunk. The noise at night is bad enough now. God knows what it is going to be (like).
“You’re going to get gangs of youths coming up. It’s going to be like the Wild West.”
Residents claimed there was a police incident of disorder at or near the pub in the early hours of Christmas morning last year and a video clip of it was shown to councillors.
A third resident added: “My concern is when my kids get woken up and naturally get drawn to the bedroom window and what they witness and have seen over time. I’ve had to kind of take them away and I said ‘go back to bed, don’t worry, Daddy’s dealing with it’.”
“They have seen drunken people fighting. And in the past (they have) seen drug taking and drug dealing outside the window.”
The hearing was told that the need to open an extra hour longer between Thursdays and Saturdays was to allow drinkers the chance to stay at their local “without the need to travel off into town” to drink and socialise elsewhere. It was heard how the pub had received letters and emails in support of its application.
Alex Green, speaking on behalf of the pub’s owners and operators, said: “The Craft Union pub company are very experienced operators with 600-plus premises nationwide. The Woodlands is an integral community-led local.
“It has been thriving since Craft took over circa 18 months ago. The new operators, Kelvin and Penny, have worked wonders with the pub in a short space of time.
“Over the 18 months they have changed the demographic of the pub. It’s a community pub filled with local people, enjoying a drink, some occasional entertainment and a game of pool with pool leagues etc.”
Mr Green later said the operators had received three complaints over the last 18 months since taking over and had taken action to deal with them.
He also added: “If there were incidents of regular fighting and drug taking on a regular basis and it was known to relate to these specific premises, I think the police would have objected.”
The pub said it was happy to offer a “no entry after midnight” condition, meaning people would not be allowed to turn up at the pub at very late hours.
But the General Licensing Sub Committee rejected the licensing application. The sub-committee comprised two Derby councillors, Alison Holmes and Gaurav Pandey.
A decision notice document by the sub-committee said: “There are clearly ongoing issues with crime and disorder and nuisance at the Woodlands Hotel and granting the application will not alleviate the ongoing issues. Instead, there is a risk that the level of noise nuisance will increase for reasons outlined by residents.
“The applicant (neither within their application or at the sub-committee) offered any assurance as to how the licensing objective of protecting children from harm would be satisfied. This was particularly concerning as (we) heard from residents that their young children often see criminal behaviour (drug use and public sexual activity) from their bedroom windows and that teenagers of families are too scared to walk past the pub.”
It added: “The representations of the 22 interested parties shared a common theme, and the subcommittee were satisfied that there is an issue with anti-social behaviour at the Woodlands Hotel and granting this variation would not be in the interests of the licensing objectives.”