Steve Brine takes up the case of residents being disturbed in city centre street.
Residents of a street in Winchester city centre claim they are being driven out of their homes by increasing noise and anti-social behaviour.
People living in Water Lane, Chester Road and even nearby St John’s Street say their quality of life, and in some cases their health, is suffering because of noise from a nearby late-license bar and non-resident parking outside their homes. They also say there has in recent months been a big rise in petty damage being done to cars, with wing mirrors especially being targetted by people using Water Lane and St Johns Street as a shortcut to other areas of the city.
Now they have reacted angrily to plans by a neighbouring bar to extend its opening times into the early hours. The Blonde Beer Café in Bridge Street has applied to Winchester City Council for an extension under new Government licensing laws that would grant a 1am closure time on Thursdays and a 2am deadline on Friday’s and Saturday’s. They have also applied to remove conditions relating to use of the garden of the premises, which currently must close at 9pm.
Prospective Conservative Winchester MP, Steve Brine, visited the residents to hear their objections and has taken up the case; “I have met with Mr Ghuman at Blondes and it is obvious he is trying to make a living here in Winchester and build a responsible business for the benefit of a carefully targetted market but this location in the middle of a largely residential area is causing huge friction with the local residents and it is clear they have had enough. Proposals to extend licensed drinking in the area later into the night seem to have pushed them over the edge. I am very concerned for residents living in Water Lane who are being disturbed by people leaving the bar and I share their concerns about noise from the back garden which has undoubtedly got worse since August 1st when the smoking ban came into force. Any extension of the 9pm garden ‘licence’ would further disturb the peace of an area containing many elderly people, young children and working people who have to get up and do a day’s work the next day.
“I am also deeply concerned, for the safety of the young people queuing outside the bar who often spill out into the road on a very busy and dangerous part of Bridge Street. I have now met with police in the city centre (on Weds 19 September) about this because we need a sensible resolution to this problem before somebody gets hurt.
“On a wider point, this is further example this Government’s ‘act first, think later’ approach to the change in our drinking laws. Few sensible people would argue against us having some flexibility in the law but all too often the new rules are having the effect of fuelling unrest within communities and encouraging a binge drinking culture that we in my view, are only just seeing the start of.”
EXTERNAL MEDIA LINK - you can see this story reported in The Hampshire Chonicle (of Thurs 20 September) here
Steve Brine pictured above with concerned residents of Water Lane.