Noise worries leads to move to block Black Country bar extending hours

Owners of Presley's Bar in High Street, Cradley Heath wants to stay open until 1.30am between Thursday and Saturday and 12.30am the rest of the week. Bosses also want to be able to play music until 12.30am between Thursday and Saturday and an hour earlier the rest of the week.

But Cradley Heath councillor Julie Webb believes allowing the venue to stay open for longer would mean people living nearby having to put up with noise and trouble.

Currently, the bar, which opened at the end of last year on the site of the former Essentials store, must close at 12.30am between Thursday and Saturday and 11pm during the rest of the week. The strict measures were put in place by council licensing chiefs who were concerned people living in flats above the venue could be disturbed if it stayed open for longer.

Sandwell Council's environment team has also raised concerns about noise impact to people living above the bar. However, Dean Davis, who helps run the bar, insists residents living in the flats do not have a problem with the changes.

He said: "We have an acoustic soundproofed ceiling and Environmental Health came and did a sound check. The residents said they were happy to live with it and once the TV is on you can't even hear it.

"What we have clearly stated is we have doormen on Fridays and Saturdays and that is not on the kind of clientèle we get in there - it's more old-school people than the young ones.

"The music will mostly be background music, we don't want anything heavy. Occasionally we might want a DJ."

But Councillor Webb believes the more time customers have to drink, the more likely they are to cause noise when they leave.

She said: "I am concerned that when the patrons leave the premises all tanked up they are going to cause antisocial behaviour.

"There are residents above the premises and flats about to be done over the road as well. People who will be living there will be subject to antisocial behaviour.

"I go shopping down there regularly and the view of the local population is having operating hours in the early hours of the morning increases the risk of antisocial behaviour. I don't think Cradley Heath needs another bar late at night."

Councillors are due to visit the High Street next month in order to make an assessment about the impact of the bar staying open later after a decision was put off by the planning committee.