Herefordshire bar extension plan has been supported by the town council

A Herefordshire hotel bar which is seeking permission to sell alcohol and food and to provide entertainment until 1am each night, has been supported by the town council.

Casey Miles Nicholls-Floyd of the Swan Hotel in Kington says in his application he wants to “enable the premises to develop a programme of occasional entertainment including vocalists and other live musicians”.

It also requests “outdated or unenforceable” requirements on the licence be replaced with new conditions covering training, CCTV, security and record-keeping.

The hotel also undertakes to ensure volumes of music “are maintained at a reasonable level to prevent causing noise nuisance”; to cease outdoor entertainment and to close windows and doors by 10.30pm; to close the outdoor area by 11pm apart from use by smokers; and not to dispose of bottles and other waste between 11pm and 7.30am.

Specialising in locally sourced steaks, the hotel in the town’s Church Street already hosts occasional live music, DJ nights and other events.

Kington Town Council recently considered the licence extension application.

Councillor Nicki Cornish said it sounded like a nightmare for local residents and said part of the problem is people leaving the premises at 1am in the morning making a noise.

Councillor Bob Widdowson said the application talks about sound proofing but the critical thing is how do you measure the decibels?

“I know in the past when they have had loud events you can hear it on the other side of town,” he said.

But Deputy Mayor Councillor Martin Woolford, who could speak but not vote after declaring an interest, said he had spoken to Casey about it.

He said; “It is a regularisation of the licence to bring it in line with every other pub and venue in the town. The Royal Oak opposite has a licence to enable it to have music until 2am but the proposal is not to have live music every night.”

Councillor Judith Gardner said: “If it brings it in-line with every other establishment I think we should support it.”

The council voted to raise no objections to the application although Councillors Cornish and Widdowson abstained and Councillor Woolford could not vote.