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A village bar has been told it can extend its opening hours – after it acted to address noise complaints.
Hopton’s in Longton currently has to close at 11pm every night – much earlier than similar businesses nearby – except on Saturdays when it can trade until midnight.
Under a change approved by South Ribble Borough Council’s planning committee, the fledgling Chapel Lane venue – which welcomed its first customers in October last year – can now operate until 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays and 11.30pm the rest of the week.
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Councillors gave the nod to the new hours in spite of opposition from dozens of locals who raised concerns about issues including noise and parking problems.
However, the 31 objections were dwarfed by the 135 expressions of support sent to the authority – and the owner of the bar said the noise complaints had only been made after the business launched its bid for longer opening times.
Tom Havlin told a meeting of the committee: “We immediately addressed these concerns by agreeing to close the bi-fold doors by 9pm, should the weather let us open them until that time.
“We’ve been diligently doing this…[and] we ensure all our [performing] artists use our own internal speaker system, therefore allowing us to control the sound levels at all times.”
The closure of the bi-fold doors at the premises has been made a condition of the planning permission granted for the later trading.
Having investigated the noise complaint, the council’s licensing department offered no objection to the extension of the opening hours, stating that it considered the matter closed – but would continue to monitor the situation.
Longton and Hutton west ward councillor Will King provided a statement to the committee in which he praised Hopton’s for its actions both over noise and the issue of congestion caused by parking on School Lane. He said the venue had become “a community asset”.
Mr. Havlin said signs had been erected to remind customers “to park legally and safely” – and directing patrons to public car parking facilities nearby. He told the committee that the longer hours being sought were “essential for the growth and survival of our business, especially during certain times of the year”.
The meeting heard that the new trading times would still be shorter than those enjoyed by other drinking establishments in the area.
Committee member Will Adams said it was “important that we give this business just as much chance to succeed as the others”, while his, colleague Haydn Williams, concluded that Hopton’s was “well run and managed”.
Cllr Mary Green expressed some concern that on Fridays and Saturdays, it could be 1am before “everybody drifts off” after the closure of the bar half an hour earlier, but the application was nevertheless approved unanimously.
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