New Seaham bar wins bid to extend licence to sell alcohol

The decision means Alders Bar and Coffee House, which officially opened on Saturday will be allowed to open as late as 11.30pm on weekends, although shorter hours will apply from Sunday to Wednesday.

Following concerns about noise raised by families living nearby, council bosses agreed to restrict the business’ morning activities.

Anthony Woollett, the applicant, said: “The reason we’ve asked for the extension in the morning is purely because we were asked by several locals if we could open at 7am.

“People who are up early, who are going to work or walking their dogs and who want a coffee – there’s mornings where we’ve been in early and there’s a lot of people who think we won’t be serving food yet, but we can fire up the coffee machine.”

The ruling by Durham County Council’s statutory licensing sub-committee means by the businesses’ alcohol, licence will be extended to: Monday to Wednesday, 11am to 10pm; Thursday to Saturday, 11am to 11pm and Sunday 11am to 10.30pm.

General opening hours will also be extended, with the venue, in North Terrace, allowed to start trading from 7am everyday, with a further 30 minutes ‘drinking-up time’ after alcohol sales have ended.

But due to concerns about noise, the venue will be barred from playing any ‘recorded music’ before 11am.

The issue of antisocial behaviour on the street, home to several other bars and restaurants, was also raised.

Mr Woollett added he included the ‘drinking-up time’ in his application to help ‘disperse’ customers at the end of a night in an attempt to minimise disturbance.

Panel chairperson, Councillor Carole Hampson, said: “We’re going to grant the variation of the premises licence, but with the condition that recorded music will be from 11am every morning.

“We’re pleased about the dialogue between the business and residents, we hope it continues and if there are any problems that cannot be sorted, licensing-wise, you can always raise it with the council’s department.”