Extended hours for town bar approved

West Berkshire Council’s licensing sub-committee met last month and resolved that the venue, in Market Place, could extend its closing time from 2:30am to 4am on Saturdays and Sundays.
The sale of alcohol will stop at 3:30am.
The approval comes despite concerns of public nuisance from Newbury Town Council, which considered there was a large number of restaurants and bars opening until 4am and that a precedent was being set.
At a meeting of the town council’s planning and highways committee on December 17, when this item was debated, councillor Kim Hodges (Lib Dem, Newbury) said: “I think we have created a precedent for very late opening and this is coming home to roost now.”
Elizabeth O’Keefe (Lib Dem, Newbury) added at the same meeting: “A lot more offices are being turned into residential.
“There will come a time those people will start to complain. Enough is enough.”
However, representative for the applicant at Document House, Jon Payne, said that although permission was being sought to open until 4am, the owners had no intention of opening until this time on a regular basis and the extended opening was instead to cater for events being held at the venue and to allow regular customers at Document House more flexibility on when they were required to leave.
The sub-committee considered that no serious incidents arousing from the venue had been reported to the police and that staff operated a ‘we serve drinks, not drunks’ policy.
The only objection received was that of Newbury Town Council.