A BARBER shop will be able to serve alcohol to customers after winning a licence from Durham County Council.

On October 16, Dennis Hutchinson applied to the council to serve free complimentary drinks in BarberBar2 in South Church Road, Bishop Auckland.

The applicant, who has helped run Crook-based BarberBar for two years, made a bid for separate licence for the new premises which opened in July.

Under the plans, customers could be offered a single free alcoholic drink while receiving a service.

Councillors from the statutory licensing sub-committee, sitting at Durham County Hall, heard this would be limited to a 330ml beverage at a rate of one-per-customer.

However, Councillor Tanya Tucker, who represents the Woodhouse Close division, objected to the licence over fears it would oppose council policies tackling alcohol issues in the county.

“Part of my concern is the licensing policy itself says County Durham has one of the highest areas of binge drinking, significantly higher than other areas in the North-East,” she said.

“If we start licensing businesses who wouldn’t normally in the general scale of things have an alcohol licence, are we not increasing that ability to have alcohol-related crime and anti-social behaviour rather than reducing it?”

She also told the committee that approving the licence could lead to a precedent for other types of premises and asked whether the business would be harmed without serving alcohol.

“Is it absolutely necessary for this type of business to have an alcohol licence and give complimentary drinks. No,” she said. “Are we setting a trend we might not be able to come back from. Yes, I think we are.”

Mr Hutchinson said the Crook-based BarberBar had been licensed for more than two years and that there were no issues or complaints.

He added staff are trained and operate a Challenge 25 policy and customers were prevented from taking alcohol off the premises.

He said about 45 to 50 per cent of customers accept complimentary drinks, which can rise to 60 per cent in the summer months.

The meeting also heard alcohol was not the main offer – with tea coffee and soft drinks available – and that barber bars were not a “new concept” with several similar venues across the UK.

Following deliberations, the committee agreed to pass the licence which will be subject to agreed conditions.

These include barber shop owners working with Durham Constabulary to minimise the risk of proxy sales and regular staff training.