North Lincolnshire Council also agreed to remove 23 conditions from the licence of the Light in Scunthorpe and paid a contribution of £2,500 towards the owner’s £4,000 costs in bringing the appeal, after the original application to extend the licence by two hours was rejected.
The conditions removed included the requirement to retain CCTV tapes, despite the fact most CCTV systems are now digital, and to maintain a burglar alarm.
The decision means The Light will be able to trade on Fridays and Saturdays until 6am the following day as well as on Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, Bank Holidays and all day on New Year’s Day.
Rebranding
Paul Weeks, director of Innovation Pubs, which runs the premises, also agreed to install seating to adapt the style of operation away from a vertical drinking establishment.
Weeks said he was disappointed the council had not granted the application back in August and he now plans to close the club and rebrand it as he has not invested in the site due to the lack of certainty over the appeal.
Michael Kheng of Kurnia Licensing Consultants, who represented the bar, said he was disappointed that the committee did not examine the application correctly during the original hearing and they appeared to make a decision before the hearing had started.
'Waste of time and money'
He added: “The time and money wasted in this matter is huge and the fact the council agreed to pay £2,500 towards Mr Weeks’ costs speaks volumes in that they knew the original decision was wrong.”
Humberside Police licensing officer Lisa Vines said: “Constructive discussions have taken place involving both parties and, as a result, the local authority is satisfied that the night time economy will not be impacted upon negatively.
“We are committed to maintaining a strong working relationship with the licensees to achieve the licensing objectives for the benefit of customers and the wider community.”