Licence granted to convert children's nursery into bar and cafe
A children’s nursery will be turned into a licensed bar and cafe after a successful application to Birmingham city council’s licensing committee.
Venue 32, in Yardley, has been granted a licence to trade alcohol and be open to the public from 10am until 10pm from Sunday to Wednesday, and until 11pm from Thursday to Saturday.
West Midlands Police and the council’s environmental health department have placed conditions on the licence, mainly updating incident and refusal logs, ensuring CCTV is switched on and recording at all times, training for staff and operating a Challenge 25 policy.
Open vessels containing alcohol will not be allowed beyond the boundaries of the premises at all times, according to the licence. The movement of bins and bottle skips will not be permitted between 11pm and 7am.
During a previous licensing meeting, Sarah Marshall, the applicant, said: “I came to the horrible conclusion that my nursery [New Generation Day Care Limited] of 20 years wasn’t going to survive the financial impacts of coronavirus. We’re still responsible for the rent, and I now had no income. We tried a few months of children’s parties as it suits our large rooms, but it didn’t raise enough revenue.
“We did research in the area and found that a lot of people were missing a place to meet friends or a chance to socialise after a long time in isolation.
“A cafe in the area we thought would be popular, but we don’t want to risk losing out on options. With a business, you worry about committing to something unless you think it will be viable.”
One objection was received by the licensing committee by Jacqueline Hughes, senior planning officer at Birmingham city council, citing public nuisance.
But seven signatures of support were received by the committee from local residents along Leabrook and Bilton Grange, with Ms Marshall claiming people wanted a cafe to improve the street’s social lives.
In their approval documents, Birmingham city council’s licence committee said: “The director of the applicant company addressed the meeting. The premises had been operating in recent years as a children’s day nursery.
“The director had conducted research with a view to changing the business model, and had found that local people wanted a social venue. She had therefore decided to change the use of the premises to a café/bistro.
“She told the sub-committee that nearby residents had been enthusiastic in their support of the plans, as had the local ward councillor. She was keen to make the new venture work, and observed that the business would provide benefits for the local area, such as employment. She had been happy to adopt all the conditions suggested by the responsible authorities.
“Written representations had been received from the Planning department of the city council; the sub-committee carefully considered these, but did not find that there was an overwhelming evidential and causal link between the issues raised and the effect on the licensing objectives.”
There is the right of appeal against the decision of the licensing authority to the magistrates’ court. Such an appeal has to be made within twenty one days of the date of notification of the decision.
