Karaoke bar plan for former Regency Restaurant in Barbican Road, York

8:49am Tuesday 13th November 2012 in News Photograph of the Author By Kate Liptrot, kate.liptrot@thepress.co.uk

Regency Restaurant in Barbican Road Regency Restaurant in Barbican Road

PLANS for a former Chinese restaurant to become a late-night music and karaoke venue will be considered this week.

Regency Restaurant in Barbican Road, which has previously been the Royal Dragon and the Spotted Cow, has submitted plans for the venue which include 11 karaoke rooms and space for dancing.

Owner Chong Hung Chun wants to play live and recorded music for dancing and wants permission to supply alcohol until 3.30am, seven nights a week.

Architects’ drawings of the three-floor venue include two dining halls and three dining rooms as well as bar and reception area and karaoke rooms.

The plans, which will be considered on Thursday, have been opposed by the police and planning officers at City of York Council and 18 objections made on the grounds of public nuisance, crime and disorder and public safety.

Planning officer Matthew Parkinson raised concerns in writing to the hearing that the venue would be open until 3.30am.

He said: “Officers would like to raise significant concerns about the proposed use of the building with particular regard to public nuisance.”

PC Mick Wilkinson said in writing to the hearing: “Given the content of the applicant’s operating schedule, the police wish to make representation to the application as it is felt that the application will undermine all four licensing objectives.”

He included a letter to the applicant’s agent, to which he said he had not had a response, stating that police would seek numerous conditions including that sale of alcohol should accompany a meal.

Plans submitted on behalf of Mr Chun outline that all staff will be trained in the sale of alcohol and licensing, CCTV will be installed in the premises, regular noise assessments will be made and anyone who appears to be under 21 years old will be asked for proof of age.

Comments(16)

BL2 says...
9:38am Tue 13 Nov 12

Sounds like a nightmare!

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atorycouncil2014 says...
10:22am Tue 13 Nov 12

Cant wait to here from good old Ernie Dickinson

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roskoboskovic says...
10:43am Tue 13 Nov 12

this will be interesting.there will be some potential for brown envelopes and backhanders.common sense should say that this is a no no considering the number of private dwellings nearby.

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smudge1 says...
11:01am Tue 13 Nov 12

WOK no planning permission !!

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notmyrealname says...
11:41am Tue 13 Nov 12

Just what the students need to keep them from their studies !!
3.30 am 7 nights - pity the poor local residents .......

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hifive says...
12:20pm Tue 13 Nov 12

It's not a bad idea - these karaoke booth style bars are getting popular and as the concept means there's different rooms, they're sound proofed well. I went to one in Leeds for a laugh and you couldn't even hear the noise from the next booth, nevermind the street! The main issue here would be people leaving on a night but it's still a workable idea in my opinion. Better than the building falling into disrepair - as a York resident I'd rather see buildings brought back into use than fester as no one can mutually decide the best use for them....

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redbluelion says...
12:43pm Tue 13 Nov 12

Bring back the old world night club..

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ShunGokuSatsu says...
2:25pm Tue 13 Nov 12

Doesn't this building actually back onto residential housing? I dunno about this. Whilst the karaoke booths will doubtless be properly soundproofed, it's much, much more difficult to pull that off in a larger space - like the space required for "live and recorded music for dancing", for example. Plus, in my opinion, it's just that tiny bit too far out of town to pull in significant crowds; the building's been vacant for years for a reason.

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the andrew says...
3:50pm Tue 13 Nov 12

They had open mike nights at the Spotted before it became a restaurant and it was very well supported with occasional live bands. IF it is soundproofed it should not be a problem. And before anyone argues about the late license there are already pubs in the area with late calls.

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rogue84 says...
4:23pm Tue 13 Nov 12

i would say it's a good thing to have, as a previous poster has said, they are very successfully designed with seperate booths etc.
however, i agree with the issue of people getting in and out, that junction at walmgate bar is quite tricky at the best of times with pedestrians, but late at night with taxi's flying around it's a recipe for disaster! on the positive side i would imagine that the takeaways on the corner would be delighted!

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
6:00pm Tue 13 Nov 12

I think 'Regency' is a very weak name. They should make it a cross between its previous names - either 'The Spotted Dragon' or (better) 'The Royal Cow'.

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bob the builder says...
7:07pm Tue 13 Nov 12

As it was a licensed premise for many years, I would counter that any 'residents' are more recent than the carrying on of business. If they failed to note they were living near a licenced premise with all that entails, that it their problem. Why single out a Karaoke venue as a likely cause of late night violence and discord over the nightclubs and bars. I expect Karaoke would be a pull for tourists and foreign students over the other nightlife available with less problems for the city.

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Harshbutfair says...
10:43pm Tue 13 Nov 12

I think most of the comments are out of tune with the majority thinking.
On a similar note, i hope the application doesn't fall flat.

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Older Sometimes Wiser says...
11:54pm Tue 13 Nov 12

Surely the main problems will be external noise from clients leaving in the early hours of the morning?
Similarly how will these people return home ? There is no inexpensive parking locally, little street parking, and the Barbican car park seemed very expensive when last I checked.? There are no convenient bus services during " normal" hours never mind at 3am!
However I expect York cabbies will be pleased if they are still awake at this time of the morning!
I could of course be a handy entertainment venue for the new student accommodation in Laurence Street!

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Daley Mayall says...
8:37pm Wed 14 Nov 12

I'd love to see a karaoke bar of some kind in York, but I don't think there's a cat in hell's chance this will be approved because of its location.

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Bucktrout says...
1:44pm Thu 15 Nov 12

I think this is very positive. There are a number of nearby pubs (The Melbourne and The Vic, to name but two) which are always half empty and would most likely benefit from some increased footfall as people make their way to the new venue.

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