A football club told Conwy’s licensing committee that plans to sell alcohol until 11pm weekdays and until 1am at weekends wouldn’t be a ‘week-long party’ but to serve the community.
At a licensing sub-committee hearing at Bodlondeb, Colwyn Bay Football Club representatives said the club only wanted to extend its hours to hold community events such as birthdays, weddings, and funerals.
The hearing follows The Seagulls applying to extend its hours to sell alcohol and play music at its Llanelian Road ground.
The club currently has various restrictions on its licence but can only serve booze between 6 pm and 11 pm Monday to Friday; between 12 pm and 11 pm Saturdays; and 12 pm until 6 pm on Sundays.
The new licence would see the club be able to sell alcohol between 11 am and 11 pm in the week and on Sundays and from 11am until 1am on Fridays, Saturdays, and bank holidays.
But some residents fear the plans could cause disturbance.
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But Colwyn Bay Football Club’s Anna Openshaw said that the club wanted to cater for the community, explaining it wouldn’t be a ‘week-long party’.
Instead, she claims applying for the licence would mean the club would be more closely regulated than if they repeatedly applied for temporary events notices every time they held an event, as such licences can offer more freedom.
“I will be, hopefully, the DPS (designated premises supervisor) for Colwyn Bay Football Club,” she said.
“What we are looking for is a variation on the original application, which was dated a long time before we were involved with the football club.
“We are looking to open the hours from 11 am to 11 pm during the week, and 11 am till 1 am on Friday and Saturday, and on paper this does look quite daunting. It looks like it is going to be a week-long party, but it really isn’t. Nothing is going to change at all within the football club.
“The reason we are doing this is to not have to put TENS (temporary events notice applications) in each time, and actually this way we are regulated more closely.
“When it comes to events, we only have events on if the residents or local people want to put a certain event on, a birthday, a wedding. The reason we’ve asked to start at 11 am is because we have a lot of enquiries about funeral breakfasts, so we are just trying to cover all hours.”
She added: “We are all volunteers in the football club, so it’s not money making in any way, shape, or form. It is just to make things a lot easier for everyone.”
One resident, Gail, spoke at the meeting on behalf of a neighbour.
She said: “She feels it is unacceptable in a residential area. The houses across from the club and at the side of the club and up the road are impacted by the noise and the smoking outside,” she said.
“The noise from the club does carry around the area, especially at the side of the club as it travels up the hill.
“Directly opposite, there is a housing estate with vulnerable and elderly people. They are woken up in the middle of the night, 1 am in the morning when there have been temporary events. They (people leaving the club) are literally walking past people’s bedrooms. They (the residents) have had to clear up rubbish in the past, glasses, etc.”
Another resident also spoke on behalf of a neighbour.
Reading out a letter, she said: “I live in very close proximity to the football club, and we can hear clearly the sound of music and people at the club on late nights, recorded music, and live groups’ music when these events are held.
“The noise carries into our house through the double-glazed windows. Extending the hours every weekend and bank holiday would have a major impact on us. We would have to endure this noise every weekend until the early hours of the morning, and this is not acceptable.”
The licensing sub-committee has five days to decide whether to grant the licence.
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