Request for seating outside Scarborough hotel denied due to concerns over public drunkenness

Scarborough Council’s licensing sub-committee partially rejected a request by the Delmont Hotel to increase its licensed area, although it gave permission for the bar to be moved to another location within the premises.

At its meeting on Tuesday August 2, the committee heard from the claimant, Harold Scott, as well as members of the public and North Yorkshire Police.

The committee ruled that it would allow the location of the bar to be moved to the modified location on the submitted plan, while noting that “the applicant has already made this change, without the prior authorization of the granting authority” .

The Delmont Hotel on Blenheim Terrace, Queens Parade has also requested permission to play recorded music outside no later than 9 p.m., to play live music outside no more than 12 times per year and to serve alcohol in its outdoor areas. .

However, the committee said it “accepts evidence from residents” about the complaints that have been made and “does not accept evidence from the hotel that there were no complaints”.

The committee also said it was accepting evidence of “lag and intoxication”, “bullying behaviour”, as well as “public urination and public drunkenness”.

According to the minutes of the meeting, residents complained of public nuisance caused by the playing of recorded music, which affected residents, including Andrew Collison who “had difficulty working from home due to high- speakers located several meters from his home.

Councilors were also told that a resident ‘had to vacate her front room due to noise created by outdoor activities on the premises’.

The committee said it was “unacceptable” to place an outdoor cafe next to flats where people live, work and sleep.

North Yorkshire Police proposed a condition limiting the use of the beer garden to 10 p.m., but it was decided this was ‘not acceptable’ due to additional complaints which the police ‘will not have had knowledge”.

The request was also denied under the purposes of preventing crime and disorder.

The committee said it accepted evidence that people using the hotel “were staggering and inebriated”, that there had been incidents of “bullying behaviour, a neighbor was photographed across the window of a bedroom, there was public urination and public drunkenness” and that he had “seen evidence of vomit from a guest on the premises”.

The minutes of the meeting read: “The claimant did not consider the effects of the problems caused to residents during periods when the premises were permitted to operate with outdoor space due to the relaxation of the laws on licenses caused by the pandemic.”