Hartlepool bar The Tipsy Doorman given new 4am alcohol licence - with a twist
A bar has been granted permission to play music and serve alcohol until 4am – but only for six months.
The application for a new premises licence for The Tipsy Doorman at 56 Church Street, Hartlepool, went before Hartlepool Borough Council’s licensing sub-committee following concerns from Cleveland Police.
It previously benefited from a licence held by a limited liability company until that organisation was dissolved, leading to the licence for the site lapsing.
Stuart Espin, who submitted the application, said he had believed the previous licence was in his name, rather than the company’s, and thought there would be no issue when he applied to have the company struck off.
Yet he was informed in December that this was not the case and the premises were therefore left without a licence.
Mr Espin noted the previous permission allowed the bar to sell alcohol until 4am each day, along with providing entertainment, including live and recorded music, and he was therefore seeking for this to be reinstated.
Cleveland Police and several council officers argued any licence should only be until 2am.
Councillors ultimately ruled the venue would be granted a licence until 4am for a six-month period to allow evidence to be collected and to see how the bar operates.
Mr Espin said the bar “takes the security of the customers, staff and neighbours extremely seriously” and a “raft of conditions” and qualified door supervisors would be in place.
He added he fears it would “end” the business if they were not granted a 4am licence, adding the bar is a “valuable asset” and “has often been used as a safe haven”.
A police legal representative argued the premises is in a “hot spot in the night time economy” and there is a “significant demand for police resources in incidents in that area” with peak times being midnight to 4am.
Zoe Craig, the council’s environmental health manager, added: “We’re trying to seek a balance between the business and those in the community, we have had noise complaints in the past.”
Officers highlighted the council’s statement of licensing policy notes “in non-residential areas applications for licences to allow the sale of alcohol or the supply of late night refreshment beyond 2am will normally be refused.”