Objections over venue’s plan to extend opening hours

Objections have been lodged over a Monmouth venue’s plan to extend its opening hours and allow non-members to enter without being signed in.

The Club in Whitecross Street, formerly Monmouth Conservative Club, has applied for a new premises licence to allow indoor sporting events, live and recorded music indoors and supply of alcohol from 8am to 12.30am, seven days a week.

The venue currently holds a club premises certificate – in the name of Monmouth Conservative Club – which allows these activities but with different permitted hours.

Under the certificate, which has been in place since 2005, indoor sports events are allowed from 7pm to 11pm Monday to Saturday, live music from 7pm to midnight on Friday and Saturday, recorded music from 10am to midnight Monday to Saturday and from 11am to 11pm on Sunday.

Alcohol is also allowed to be supplied from 10am to midnight Monday to Saturday, and from 11am to 11pm on Sundays.

The new licence would mean all activities are allowed during the same hours, while also extending the permitted times.

It would also mean that those entering the venue no longer have to either be members or signed in by an existing member.

But a meeting of Monmouthshire council’s licensing and regulatory sub-committee has been called to decide the application after objections were lodged from residents living near the venue.

Fourteen residents objected, though two of these were withdrawn after the applicant agreed to include conditions to the licence requested by Gwent Police.

One objector said the venue is located in “a quiet residential area”, close to houses where many elderly people live.

They said residents already “experience distress” from existing levels of noise, and fear the proposal would make the issue worse.

Another objector said they are concerned about the impact of the proposal on their sick, elderly mother, fearing she would be “badly impacted” by potential noise.

One resident said the hours proposed were ‘extreme’ and has called for a restricted number of events to be held per month.

Gwent Police removed its representations against the application after conditions were agreed.

Monmouthshire council’s environmental health department, which investigates noise complaints, has not objected.

The club has agreed to have CCTV, operate an age verification policy, be a member of Pubwatch, display notices for customers to leave quietly, not have live music outdoors and not have children at the premises from 9pm.

Monmouthshire council’s licensing and regulatory sub-committee will determine the application at a meeting next Friday, November 12.