Planned bar has its 2am booze licence bid turned down

A planned bar has had its application to stay open as late as 2.30am over the weekend rejected by county bosses.

The brains behind the proposed 1920 Bar and Grill, in Elvet Bridge, Durham City, had asked to be allowed to sell alcohol up to 2am seven days a week, with an extra half hour for ‘drinking up time’.

But they were unable to convince licensing chiefs, who still agreed to grant a booze licence, but limited serving time to 1am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and midnight the rest of the week.

“The decision we’ve made is we cannot see any reason or exceptional circumstances why you need the licence extended,” said Coun Joyce Maitland.

Coun Maitland was speaking at a meeting of Durham County Council’s Statutory Licensing SubCommittee.

The plans for the site, which has previously been a clothes shop and a bank, were submitted by Cetin Koroglu, who also runs the Blue Eye bar, also in Elvet Bridge.

The committee heard permission for the venue to operate as a bar has not yet been granted, with its most recent application, in 2016, limiting opening hours to 11pm.

According to evidence submitted by the council’s Community Protection Service: “Lack of permission in this circumstance means that the potential for noise outbreak among other areas has not been formally quantified and suitably mitigated.”

But concerns about an impending planning application were dismissed as a ‘red herring’ by Matt Foster, of law firm Minkoff ’s, who represented Mr Koroglu.