Pub wins 1am music licence (From York Press)

Pub wins 1am music licence

1:04pm Wednesday 27th December 2006

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A PUB in York city centre has been given permission to play music until 1am.

Rumours in Micklegate had applied to City of York Council to extend its music licence from 11pm to 1am.

A council licensing panel yesterday granted the full extension for indoor areas, but said outdoor speakers must be turned off at midnight.

As reported in The Press earlier this week, the neighbouring youth hostel York Backpackers had objected to the application, and called for a complete ban on outdoor music at all times.

But general manager Andrew Easterday said he was happy with the decision.

He said: "Quite simply, we have come to an amicable compromise between what Rumours requested and what would be ideal for our business.

"Hopefully, the result will be that business is not affected and our customers will not be kept awake at night."

The decision is consistent with a request from the council's own environmental protection unit that outdoor speakers be switched off at midnight.

In his initial objection to the application, Mr Easterday had written: "Some of our rooms overlook the beer garden of Rumours and already suffer noise nuisance from both recorded music and late night drinkers.

"Any increase in the permitted hours would only add to what is already a significant problem.

"The patio is raised about 2.5 metres above ground level, and is open on all sides. This already serves to compound the problem by making the sound carry further. The stillness of the night-time makes the situation worse.

"With the introduction of the smoking ban in licensed premises from summer 2007, we would expect patronage of the outdoor patio area to increase. As our observations seem to indicate that the sound level is already increased in volume at busy times to compensate for the increases level of conversation, we would therefore expect a significant overall increase in volume and therefore nuisance."

Christopher Fall, premises licence holder at Rumours, argued in his application that music from the nearby Toffs nightclub was louder than theirs, and went on until 3am.

He said they wanted to extend the licence "to allow patrons to enjoy use of the premises prior to going on to other later venues, who now have extended hours".

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