Licence to sell alcohol at Shrewsbury Castle could be approved this week

Since the Covid pandemic, Shrewsbury Castle has been used for more open air events than ever, including theatre shows, live music and pizza nights.

Now Shrewsbury Museum Service has applied for a licence to sell alcohol, including late at night and into the early hours of the morning from New Year's Eve into New Year's Day.

The existing licence for the castle allows it to host plays, films, live music, recorded music, dance performances and similar live entertainment.

The variation of licence application requests extending the licensable area from the building to cover the full grounds of the castle, add the supply of alcohol to the licence for consumption ‘on and off’ the premises, and to add additional hours for New Year's Eve into New Year's Day.

A report says: "Shrewsbury Museum Service have made an application for a variation of the premises licence.

"The current premises licence is for indoor regulated entertainment only without alcohol. The premises is situated in the town centre of Shrewsbury, surrounded by both residential and commercial properties.

"Previous dealings with the premises from a licensing perspective are low with no complaints on the system, however as per representations recent TENs (Temporary Event Notices) have caused complaints to be received by Environmental Protection in relation to noise.

"Environmental Health were concerned about the noise externally for large events. It has been agreed that as per their operating schedule live and recorded music events will be limited to no more than eight per calendar year."

It adds: "Police requested additional conditions, and the following were agreed and will be added to the licence if granted. The premises will have a zero tolerance to drugs policy. A record shall be made of the date and time of the find, the person who made the find and the person who secured the found item(s). This record will be made available to any authorised authority on request. The Premises Licence Holder shall make suitable arrangements with the police for the collection of any found items as soon as possible after they are found

"Any suspicious activity and crimes will be recorded and reported to the police. All drinks alcoholic or non-alcoholic to be consumed outside when over 500 in attendance will be served in non-glass receptacles. No alcohol will be served in cans to ensure that there is no risk of anyone under the age of 18 drinking alcohol from cans."

The application will be discussed at a Shropshire Council licensing sub-committee meeting on Friday.