Hartlepool's Staincliffe Hotel granted permanent licence after wrangle

Hartlepool Borough Council Licensing Sub-Committee met remotely to discuss an application from The Staincliffe Hotel in Seaton Carew for a permanent licence.

In June 2019 the hotel was granted a 12-month premises licence following talks between hotel bosses and authorities including the fire service and police.

Earlier this year an application was submitted from Amanda Fletcher at the hotel to make the licence permanent, however some concerns were raised over the plans.

Council officers have confirmed the licence has been granted, which will enable the hotel to open to the public, play live and recorded music, and serve alcohol, with the venue closing at 11.30pm, or midnight on weekends.

Andrew Tate, solicitor speaking on behalf of the hotel, said at the committee meeting the future of the historic site depended on the granting of an application.

He said: “Who would want to book a wedding, celebrate a birthday or perhaps even watch a football match on television, without being able to at least have the opportunity of consuming some form of alcoholic beverage?

“What might have one time been considered the jewel in the crown on The Cliff at Seaton Carew could, one imagines, become very quickly an eyesore [if the application was not granted].

“It is her [Ms Fletcher’s] strong desire to work with the local authority, and local residents to achieve a balance with which everyone is content.”

Mr Tate also warned against issuing another temporary licence for the hotel, arguing it does ‘nobody any favours’.

He said this was because businesses would be less inclined to invest in the site, while residents can still lodge complaints, which could result in a review, if a permanent licence was granted.

Hotel bosses noted no objections have been received by local police or fire brigade chiefs, however concerns were raised by both council officers and residents from nearby Cliffe Court.

Many cited how the hotel had agreed to hold meetings every two months as part of the 12-month licence granted last year, but only one was held, which residents of Cliffe Courts said they were not invited to.

Mr Tate said the first meeting did not serve a ‘particularly useful purpose’ and residents who attended had no issues, and would rather contact the hotel directly if they had problems.

However council officers said it was a legal condition to hold the meetings, not something to choose to comply with, but hotel bosses said they would arrange future meetings if a licence was granted.

Ian Harrison, council acting community safety operations manager, argued since the hotel failed to comply with conditions from the temporary licence, such as regular meetings being held, a permanent licence ‘would not promote the licensing objectives’.

Jane Kett, council environmental health manager for commercial services, noted two abatement notices had to be issued over the past year due to the accumulation of commercial food waste.

She added in her 30 years working for the authority she had ‘never known it be necessary’ to serve two abatement notices to such a site.

Hotel bosses noted they had a skip in place as they were carrying out large scale refurbishment, later removed the rubbish following the notices, and they have since entered into an agreement with the council commercial waste department to dispose of waste.

Judith Godfrey, speaking on behalf of 11 residents of Cliffe Court who objected, said they wanted to ‘coexist in a respectful, neighbourly manner’ with the hotel but had some concerns over noise.

She said: “Unfortunately the Staincliffe Hotel has failed on numerous occasions to ensure noise levels are kept to an acceptable level.

“We accept that there will be an element of noise when events take place but not to the extent which has been the case.

“This has been due to a failure to manage the supervision of the rooms, ensuring that doors and windows remain closed during events.”

Mr Tate concluded by noting the ‘iconic’ hotel was happy to comply with conditions put in place to help ensure the business operated for the benefit of everyone.

He said: “While much work has been done there are still areas that potentiality require addressing.

“This is really a position where everyone wants both the business and residents to lead a happy coexistence and ultimately for the business to flourish and to bring with it the jobs and services it provides.”

Hartlepool Borough Council chiefs confirmed a licence has been granted, with formal notice of the decision to be forwarded to relevant parties.

The current occupier noted they will be looking to continue their refurbishment of the site now a licence has been granted.

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