Village pub can stay open until 1am after licence approved
Only one objection was raised about the application in Brompton-on-Swale
A village pub has been granted permission to open later after councillors heard the venue had become a thriving community hub..
The Crown Inn, in Brompton-on-Swale, can now stay open every day until 1am, with 2am opening allowed on Bank Holidays, Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
The pub’s amended licence also means live and recorded music can continue indoors until 12.30am and outdoors until 11pm.
Alcohol can be served until half an hour before closing.
North Yorkshire Council’s statutory licensing sub-committee made the decision after hearing how the pub had gone from strength to strength after being taken over by tenants Nigel and Lizzie Druery in 2023.
Piers Warne, solicitor for Punch Taverns, which owns the pub, said the couple, with the licence holders, had invested £115,000 into the business.
He added: “Lizzie and Nigel have gone out of their way really to actually turn this place into a community pub and it is celebrated by a significant amount of the community.
“The bingo is once a week, the quiz night is once a week, but outside of that there’s live music once every two months between 9pm and 11pm, and karaoke on average once every two months.
“There are also charity events, day trips, sports-themed daytime events and village school stuff, so they really are at the heart of this community.”
Councillors heard from villager Simon Ducker, who lives opposite the pub and opposed the application, telling councillors noise from the pub had ruined his retirement.
Mr Ducker said his bedroom was 20 metres from the pub and he was unable to get better soundproofing because he lived in a grade-two listed property.
He said he was supportive of the business until he was “bounced out of bed” by the noise, adding: “What on earth a community village pub wants a 2am licence for is just completely beyond my comprehension.”
But the meeting also heard how 13 people had written letters of support for the extended licence, while others had turned up at the hearing at County Hall, Northallerton, in person.
Mr Warne said other people living near the pub said they were not disturbed by noise from the venue.
The meeting also heard that no objections had been raised by North Yorkshire Police or the council’s licensing department.
Granting the amended licence, Andy Paraskos, chair of the three-councillor licensing panel, said: “We are particularly impressed by the support from the residents, and it’s nice to see people actually coming out (to the hearing).”