An initial hearing has upheld the Town Council's recent appeal against the outcome of the Licensing Review for the Greyhound Hotel. The temporary reduction in opening hours on Friday and Saturday nights originally imposed by the Licensing Sub-Committee has now been made permanent following an agreement reached by all parties at the hearing in Bath.
The premises will be required to abide by revised opening hours with immediate effect, which will require them to close at 1 a.m. on a permanent basis, with last orders at 12.30 a.m., along with the cessation of music and entertainment.
The agreement was reached between the Licensing Authority, Punch Taverns, who hold the licence, the police and the Town Council, who were representing the interests of residents, without the need to progress to a formal hearing.
Town Councillors, Linda Dunford and Michael Evans, attended the initial hearing and were pleased that an agreement was reached that reflects the interests of the both the residents and the licence holders.
"As a Council, we felt we had to appeal against the original decision," said Cllr Dunford. "But in reaching this agreement, we can
reassure residents that the disturbances they have experienced, which have often gone on until after 2 a.m., should now be resolved and it supports our continuing work to make the town centre a safer place at night."
Cllr Evans said: "This outcome is very welcome. We disagreed very strongly with the outcome of the review and we feel that our decision to appeal has been vindicated.
"The fact that the licence holders and the police agreed so readily to the outcome was a major factor and it remains a mystery as to how the original decision by the Sub-Committee was reached.
"Although entry to the Greyhound after midnight will be allowed, the shorter opening time will reduce the risk of large movements of people around the town after midnight, which was one of the key principles of our objection."
This outcome will underpin the wider efforts of the Community Alcohol Partnership to make the town a safer place and its efforts to gain Purple Flag accreditation for the town.