New owner of pub in Sleaford which closed down two years ago is granted premises licence

North Kesteven’s Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee met yesterday (Wednesday) morning and agreed to grant a licence to Martyn Grice for the former Rose and Crown in Watergate to become a bar and restaurant downstairs with bed and breakfast accommodation on the second and third floors.

The licence was granted in a revised form after Mr Grice agreed to a number of conditions set by council officers due to previous concerns with the old licensee about noise nuisance and police concerns about alleged drug taking. the new owner is totally unrelated to the previous occupiers, it has been stressed.

The Environmental Health Officer had raised concerns regarding the impact that the proposed premises could have on the nearby area, given the

premises’ location at the end of a terrace of a three-storey building incorporating a retail premises and residential dwellings. The

Environmental Health Officer provided evidence of a previous history of complaints regarding noise from loud music and other associated

disturbances affecting both residential and commercial properties in the immediate vicinity of the premises in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

The concerns surround live or amplified music and customers using outdoor areas and the curtilage of the premises.

The new licensee has agreed that:

○ No recorded or live music will be played outdoors at any time.

○ Regulated entertainment shall not be permitted between 11pm and 8am (permitted hours to be extended until 1am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve).

○ The sale of alcohol shall not be permitted (except to bona fide B&B residents, to be served to their rooms only) between midnight and 8am (permitted hours to be extended until 1am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve).

○ The premises shall not be open to the public between 12.30am and 8am (permitted hours to be extended until 1am on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve).

○ No late night refreshment outdoors.

○ The courtyard shall not be used by customers for the consumption of food or drink after 9.30pm.

○ Prominent, clear and legible notices shall be displayed and maintained at the exits and in the courtyard requesting customers to respect the

needs of local residents by not causing a disturbance or noise while entering, exiting or in the vicinity of the premises, plus notices at the exits and in the courtyard notifying customers that no food or drink is permitted in the courtyard after 9.30pm.