A bistro and bar in Haywards Heath has been refused permission to vary its licence to allow it to play music and sell alcohol until 2.30am at weekends.
The application from the Pink Flamingo, in The Broadway, was turned down by Mid Sussex District Council’s liquor licensing panel on Monday (March 9).
Currently, the venue is open from 8am to midnight Monday to Saturday and 10am to midnight on Sunday, serving alcohol and playing music indoors and outdoors until 11.40pm and 11pm.
Permission was sought to open until 3am on Fridays and Saturdays, with alcohol sold and live and recorded music played until 2.30am.
Lee Ball, who took over the premises in October, stressed that it was not a nightclub and nor did he want it to be, and that the change in hours would not be every weekend.
He had originally asked permission to stay open until 4am but amended his application when concerns were raised by neighbours.
Mr Ball said his aim was to make the venue ‘more of a community hub’ as well as helping things to work financially.
Jane Cooper, of the environmental protection team, said noise was already an issue for residents living in flats next to the venue.
Given the structure of the building, she told the panel that Mr Ball needed to seek specialist acoustic advice for ways to mitigate the noise – mitigation that would still need to be assessed by the environmental protection team.
She added: “Local residents that I’ve spoken to accept that some disturbance is to be expected if you live in a town close to bars and restaurants.
“But they do have a reasonable expectation to be able to use their homes to relax in the evenings and to be able to sleep at night.”
The panel refused the application on the grounds of prevention of public nuisance.
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