Late night alcohol licence for new Waterlooville restaurant faces opposition with fears over anti-social behaviour

Plans for a new ‘family-friendly bistro’ have faced opposition over an attempt to secure a late-night alcohol licence. Credible Holdings Ltd applied for a premises licence to sell alcohol from 8am until 2am daily at the former Natwest site in London Road. The application also sought permission to play live and recorded music for the same hours.

Police wanted a requirement for there to be two Security Industry Authority (SIA) door staff when open beyond midnight or limit alcohol sales to end at midnight.

Havant Borough Council’s environmental health team requested a noise limiter be installed. The local authority’s licensing department also submitted an objection over the late-night hours and public nuisance. A licensing sub-committee meeting was held on Thursday, June 13, due to the objections from responsible authorities, as well as a member of the public whose daughter recently moved to the area.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary licensing officer Paul James said if the venue’s application was approved it would have the latest alcohol licence in the town. Mr James said it would attract customers from other businesses once they closed for the night.

He said having SIA door staff provided a deterrent to anyone intent on behaving in a criminal or disorderly manner from attending the premises. The company said it could not agree to the SIA door staff and noise limiter conditions.

Stephanie Thomas, of Credible Holdings, said: “Our intention is to introduce to the building a new venue that attracts, entertains and provides a safe space for a range of guests, including families, parents with young children, teenagers, groups of adults and the elderly.

“This will not be an establishment that invites excessive drinking. The venue will compare with Bill’s of Chichester and various other locations, Côte Brasserie, with similarities to The Ivy which most of us know well. We will trade all day, offering breakfast and coffee, lunch, dinner, a bar and evening entertainment.”

The applicant’s existing establishments include the three Kassia restaurants in Denmead, Drayton and Stony Stratford, and Chandlers in Clanfield. They described the new venue as “a family-friendly bistro serving breakfast, lunch and dinner”, with quiz nights, live entertainment and general background music.

Mrs Thomas said: “Our existing establishments regularly host birthdays, weddings and charity fundraising events as well as entertainment and dancing. In some instances where customers are enjoying themselves without any threat to the licensing objectives there is a demand to continue trading.

“A hard stop at midnight or earlier results in large numbers of guests spilling onto the streets waiting for taxis and pick-ups, which poses challenges in controlling noise. A later licence encourages a more staggered egress. We wish to stress that late finishes at this Waterlooville venue will be occasional and will primarily take effect at weekends, subject only to demand.”

The applicant said other venues in Waterlooville have late-night licences without a condition to have door staff.

Council licensing officer Briony Veness said some premises in the town voluntarily took the decision to employ door staff.

Ms Thomas and director Fasu Miah said they had confidence in their in-house staff to maintain control of the venue. Mr Miah said: “I believe it is better to solve a problem before it happens than after it happens. Our staff and our management are trained to see if there is anything likely to kick off and then we address it.”

Ms Thomas added: “The reason we are here is neighbouring establishments do not have the condition and I hope that we will give you the impression that we will voluntarily provide SIA staff to protect our business and the public. But we would really be grateful to not have the condition imposed on us just in case we come up against factors such as sickness and being let down by a contractor.”

Police licensing officer Colin Pollard said: “I don’t think that staff retention is a factor that plays into this at all. With regards to looking at those licensing objectives, I think the point we have to take here is there is either a need to mitigate or reduce the risk to the licensing objectives of crime and disorder from our perspective or there isn’t.”

A back-and-forth exchange between Mr Miah and the police officer broke out over the merits of employing door staff.

During the hearing, the applicant agreed to a noise management plan conditions, which saw the environmental health objection fall away. The council and police licensing officers maintained their objections in relation to door staff. Councillors on the licensing sub-committee sat in private to consider the application. A decision will be published this week.