Blow for landlady as weekend hours are limited to 1am

A PUB boss has seen her bid for late opening ripped apart.
In an application that had divided neighbours, landlady Wendy Clare had asked for permission to open The Constitution bar in St Pancras Way, Camden Town, until 3.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
She also hoped to open the pub until 1am from Mondays to Wednesdays, and 2am on Thursdays.
But Ms Clare, whose pub has a view of a stretch of the Grand Union Canal, was given approval for an 11.30pm finish Monday to Wednesday and 1am from Thursday to Saturday.
On four nights a month she can hold events that run until 2am at weekends.
Ms Clare told a panel of three councillors: “This is my first pub, it will probably be my last after this experience. I don’t let people I don’t know into the pub after a certain time. You can’t afford to, it leads to trouble.”
The landlady had insisted that she would not have used the full late licence at every possible opportunity and instead simply wanted flexibility to serve neighbourhood regulars.
In an article for the New Journal, she said: “My application for a late licence is to accommodate occasional local demand for somewhere to celebrate special occasions, in a place where they are known, safe and welcome.”
But Ms Clare, who was also told her beer garden must close at 11pm, met resistance to her late-opening plans, with written objections received at the Town Hall.
She claimed they were later withdrawn after a meeting with residents but complainants failed to contact the Town Hall to erase their objections from the file.
One of the objectors, Maeve O’Connor, a member of Elm Village Residents and Tenants Association, said: “The noise and other possible nuisance in the area would be vastly increased on nights the pub remained open so late.”
The Constitution application was among the first to be considered by the council since the government scrapped fixed opening hours. Other hearings at the Town Hall so far have resulted in a split between approvals and rejections.
A busy diary of hearings continues on Monday when councillors will decide whether The Rocket, a popular student bar in Euston Road, King’s Cross, can stay open until 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
Somers Town ward councillor Roger Robinson is objecting to the change.
In a written objection, he said: “The noise of people coming out of the public house and sometimes ensuing fights are stressful to the residents. If this application to extend the licence to even more hours goes ahead the noise will be even more apparent.”
Bosses at The Rocket say in their application: “Reasonable steps are taken to recognise the rights of residents and to encourage customers to leave the premises quietly.”
Fresh applications which arrived at the council’s licensing department this week include a request by the Bar Room Bar in Rosslyn Hill, Hampstead, for permission to stay open until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
All pubs and clubs in Camden must apply for a new licence under the new regime, even if they do not want extended hours.
Venues that fail to convert to the new system could be banned from selling booze.