Council objects to Whitby pub’s application for longer beer garden hours during Whitby Goth Weekend

The Little Angel on Flowergate has proposed that it be allowed to keep its beer garden open later than usual for two days this month, leading to concern among council officers that it would “cause a public nuisance”.

North Yorkshire Council’s licensing sub-committee will decide on the application at a meeting on Friday, October 13.

Currently, the pub’s licence states that the use of its beer garden has to end by 10.30pm.

The Little Angel’s temporary event application has proposed that the garden area could be used “for the sale of alcohol between 10.30pm and 11.59pm from October 27 to 28”.

Richard Nattriss, the applicant, said that the date was set to coincide with the Whitby Goth Weekend and added that additional measures would be put in place.

However, the council’s environmental health service objected to the temporary event notice over concerns that the event would cause “a public nuisance”.

Tim Croot, a council environmental health officer, said that the pub had been issued with “three noise abatement notices” last year, one of which “specifically related to the beer garden”.

It was noted that the beer garden noise abatement notice was withdrawn after it was agreed that its use would be limited to 10.30pm.

Mr Croot said in an email to the licensing service that granting the temporary event notice would “in effect bypass this legal agreement and likely cause a public nuisance”.

Mr Nattriss has said that “a number of measures have been put in place to prevent public nuisance” and confirmed that “SIA registered security personnel will be employed for the event”.

In a letter to the council, Mr Nattriss said: “We are only choosing this weekend as we know from over a decade of experience that the goth community is an older and more respectful clientele.”

He added: “They will not be allowed to be noisy, rowdy, singing, or dancing.”

The council’s licensing committee will decide whether to allow the proposed activities to go ahead, to add more conditions on the existing premises licence, or to issue a counter notice “on the basis that the proposed activities would undermine the licensing objectives”.