Bid by Staffordshire bar to open until 3am turned down by councillors following concerns
A Stafford town centre bar’s bid to open until 3am has been turned down by councillors after concerns were raised about potential noise nuisance for nearby residents.
The Dog House’s application to extend its opening hours met with opposition from Stafford Borough Council’s Environmental Health department – but there were no objections submitted to the authority by neighbours.
The Martin Street venue will be allowed to open from 8am however, after director Lee Henderson told Stafford Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee that he hoped to start offering breakfast when the kitchen is back up and running. And a requirement for door staff to be present from 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays was changed to 11pm following a discussion between the venue and police.
The request for The Dog House to open until 3am Monday to Saturday and 2am on Sundays was considered by the licensing sub-committee at a hearing on Tuesday.
The venue is currently able to open until 12.30am on Sundays and Mondays and 1am Tuesday to Saturday.
Environmental health officer Nicole Cawley told the committee the venue was a Listed Building with several original single-glazed sash windows. There are 12 neighbouring residential flats, she added, with another nine flats just 40 metres away.
“We have not received any complaints about the current opening hours. But our concern is the change would cause complaints given 3am is a considerably different time to 1am”, she said.
“There is a potential for breakout noise from the sash windows and public nuisance for the residents from patrons coming and going and smoking outside. We have suggested a 2am close on Fridays and Saturdays which would give a full hour longer to receive customers.”
It has also been recommended that secondary glazing is installed in the sash windows to reduce potential sound issues and a noise limiter put in place. But Mr Henderson told the committee he was not currently in a financial position to invest in these measures.
He added: “I would prefer to have secondary glazing and it is something I would be willing to get in the future. But right now I can’t afford it.
“It costs £400 for a window. Downstairs we have five and upstairs we have four or five.
“The people we have at the premises aren’t people who go out to get drunk, they’re people who want to enjoy their night. Our place isn’t a nightclub.
“I have a noise management plan that stops live music playing after 12am. I contacted the neighbouring flats about the application and got no response from them to say they were going to have an issue with the noise.”
