Residents object over Ormskirk bar licence changes

Mar 21 2013 by Sam Yarwood, Ormskirk Advertiser

RESIDENTS have objected plans to allow an Ormskirk nightspot to continue allowing customers in after midnight.

The New Way Tenants and Residents Association (NWTRA) claims that the licence condition was originally added voluntarily by The Forum’s owners in order to ‘hopefully satisfy’ their concerns over customers arriving in the town centre after 12am.

As it stands, the premises is permitted to serve alcohol until 2am – but only to those who are inside the premises before the shut-out point, which is 12am Sunday to Thursday, and 1am at weekends.

In a submission to the Licensing Committee, which is due to meet on March 26, NWTRA said that they were ‘surprised’ by the application to remove the condition saying that the restriction was suggested by the bar’s owners to combat their objections over the renewal of its licence back in November.

The residents had voiced opinions that the venue’s 2am serving hours were to blame for the area’s late night noise problems.

A report to go before the committee said: “The representation raises concerns of noise nuisance in the area and is therefore relevant to the ‘prevention of public nuisance’ licensing objective.”

The NWTRA claim that in an email to them, Forum owner Kevin Dunn said: “We are prepared to add a further condition to our licence that all customers arriving at the premises must be in by 12 midnight Monday-Thursday, this will hopefully satisfy any concerns you have about customers arriving in the town centre beyond midnight.”

Mary Wright, of the New Way Tenants and Residents Association, has previously described the noise of people leaving the town centre in the early hours as ‘horrendous’.

No one from The Forum was available for comment.