By Carmelo Garcia – Local Democracy Reporter
A Cheltenham publican has been granted permission to sell alcohol at a tiny tavern across the road from their main pub amid safety fears that will be a “disaster waiting to happen”.
Linden Holliday, who owns the Tavern in Royal Well Place, has been granted permission to serve alcohol for The Tiny Tavern at Unit 4 in The Studios, Royal Well Place.
His application for a premises licence was considered by Cheltenham Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee last night (October 27).
He told councillors he wants to increase the Tavern’s revenue by focusing on food and providing an outdoor space for patrons to use during the summer months.
However, the bid to be able to sell alcohol everyday between midday and 1am sparked five objections from residents and nearby businesses.
Ian Perry, who was among those who raised safety concerns, said it would be a “disaster waiting to happen”.
He told the meeting at the Municipal Offices that 15 Royal Crescent has been in his family for around 60 years.
“At the back there were six former garages, of which this property forms one, which some years ago were given planning permission to move into business starter units to begin with,” he said.
“My main issue is that we have vehicular and pedestrian access across the area of land that is part of the application.
“We have tenants in the building, some residential, some commercial.
“The access is used occasionally seven days a week from early in the morning until late in the evening.
“I just cannot see how anyone is going to have seating in an area which is a pedestrian and vehicular right of way.
“It can’t be safe for people to be sitting out in a courtyard when there are cars and vans.
“The garage that is nearest the road at the back of Royal Crescent is presently used as a coffee pod.
“There is outside seating. Whenever I go in there to park I normally have to make sure people move their chairs so I can get my access through.
“Often there are small children wandering around there. I think it’s a disaster waiting to happen if you allow this to go ahead.”
Chairman Simon Wheeler (LD, Hesters Way) said the committee was not allowed to take the access concerns into account as they were a planning matter.
Mr Perry replied saying it was in a totally unsuitable place for alcohol to be consumed.
“It’s not a pub. It’s basically a garage with a front door on it and they have no other land. The land doesn’t go with that property.”
Naomi Murray and Kay Tibbles of Every Cloud, which provides specialist and therapeutic play and arts therapy for vulnerable children at 15 Royal Crescent, also raised concerns.
Ms Murray said therapy can only be effective in a calm, quiet and confidential environment and the plans created safety risks on what she described as a “small private access road to their staff car park”.
“If this new licensing application were granted and delivered within the weekday hours it states, it would make the premises incompatible with the therapeutic use for up to 80 weekly sessions,” she said.
“As the only setting of its kind in Cheltenham, Every Cloud’s closure would be a significant loss to children’s services and contradict Cheltenham Borough Council’s No Child Left Behind objectives.”
Mr Holliday told the meeting he was not there to “try and disrupt anything” and explained he wanted the licence to provide more outdoor space to increase revenue during the summer.
“I speak as the husband of the Gloucestershire lead for mental health in primary, husband of the head of the largest primary school in Gloucestershire, as an ex-naval officer with lots of experience of post-traumatic stress disorder,” he said.
“I bought The Tavern to take it from a pub which had been absolutely decimated by Young’s, a national brewer, to make it into more of a community space.
“We are doing as much as we can to do that. Now we have regular lunches from an old folks home, we regularly have 15 to 20 predominantly ladies coming for lunch.
“We want to be a community space. What I don’t want to do is to have a contentious process here.”
He said The Tavern is a relatively small pub without outdoor space.
“During the summer, the revenue falls off a cliff,” he said.
He explained the space they would use is not immediately below 15 Royal Crescent.
The tables would be a “good ten metres” from the bottom of the building, he said.
“What we are looking for is to try and drive our revenue during the summer period when we want to be outside,” he said.
“The bulk of our revenue, probably 60 per cent, comes from food. We are a restaurant effectively.
“Our demographic is roughly between 35 and 75 years old. We are not a rowdy drinkers pub by any means.”
He said their approach is to work in partnership with their neighbours and be part of the community.
“We are currently not viable. I’ve owned the business for a year.
“We are losing £20,000 to £25,000 a month at the moment because we are trying to get back up to where the business was under Lucky Onion.
“Lucky Onion were doing about £1.2m a year turnover.
“Young’s came and took the place over and reduced the turnover to £500,000. So at the start which was in November last year we were at £550,000. We are currently at £750,000. We are building the thing up by a really good food offer.”
Councillors left the chamber to deliberate in private and on their return council solicitor Vikki Fennell told the meeting the committee granted the licence with conditions agreed with environmental health.
Chairman Wheeler said films would not be played at the site and there would be no live music except for Fridays, Saturdays and race days and up to three occasions during the Jazz Festival from 6pm to 10.30pm.
“In relation to the jazz and music festival, live music is permitted on up to three occasions on each of those weeks with a month’s written notice to the licensing authority for timings required,” he said.
“The subcommittee found the applicant to be very open and honest and prepared to concede numerous points of his application to work with businesses around him.”
He also said there are other pubs within metres of the venue.
“It is already a very busy thoroughfare. It’s not reasonable to refuse on those grounds.”