A SOCIAL club in Merthyr Tydfil has had its application to be able to open until half past midnight from Mondays to Saturdays approved.
Merthyr Vale and Aberfan Social Democratic Club and Institute in Aberfan Road, Aberfan applied for a new premises licence to allow the sale of alcohol and indoor sporting events from 11am to midnight from Monday to Saturday and from 12pm to 11.30pm on Sunday.
Following approval by the council’s licensing committee on Wednesday, April 2, the club is allowed to play live and recorded music and films indoors from 11am to 11.30pm from Monday to Friday and from 12pm to 11.30pm on Saturday and Sunday.
And they’re allowed to open from 11am to 12.30am from Monday to Saturday and from 12pm to midnight on Sunday.
The club holds a club premises certificate which means it is currently entitled to remain open until midnight on Sunday.
After receiving an objection from a resident to the application on the grounds of outdoor music causing a noise nuisance it was highlighted that, even though the applicant had applied for outdoor live and recorded music, the Live Music Act 2012 and related legislation meant the club was entitled to provide live and recorded music outdoors for audiences of 500 people or fewer between the hours of 8am and 11pm without needing specific permission under a premises licence.
The applicant changed their initial proposal and removed the outdoor live and recorded music from their application so the licensing committee report said the resident’s objection relating to live and recorded music outdoors was no longer relevant.
A second resident objection was also in relation to outdoor music, music emanating from open doors, and opening hours until midnight on a Sunday.
Again the report said that under the Live Music Act 2012 and related legislation the live and recorded music cannot be objected to and remains an existing entitlement of the club so this part of their objection was not relevant but the objection to the opening hours remained.
A letter was sent to the resident asking whether they wish to withdraw their objection given the above current entitlements or if they wished to engage in mediation with the applicant through the licensing department but no response was received.
In relation to the opposition from a local resident to the premises opening until midnight, the decision notice said that the written representation submitted had provided no evidence as to the basis of that concern.
It said that the committee can only restrict a licensing activity or impose a condition or conditions if that decision is based on evidence, and that it is appropriate to do so.
On the basis that no evidence was provided in the written representation and that the person who made the written representation did not attend the hearing so did not provide oral supporting evidence, the committee decided there was no reason not to grant the licence.
The committee also recognised that the applicant had accepted the proposed conditions of the police prior to the application being submitted and that there was no representation from the council’s environmental health department.
