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The Prince Regent pub in
Marylebone High Street |
Protesters lose bid to call time on drinking
High street pub allowed to continue serving al fresco
NEIGHBOURS complaining that living next to a Marylebone pub is like having a “football match” on their doorstep fear an escalation of problems after licensing chiefs refused to ban al-fresco drinking.
The council’s postbag was bursting with angry letters from residents living near the Prince Regent pub in Marylebone High Street ahead of last week’s licensing review.
Residents say that rowdy drinkers clog up the streets and make living in the salubrious neighbourhood, just a stone’s throw from Regent’s Park, a nightmare.
Following the review, the landlords have been ordered to install barriers on the pavement to fence off drinkers and stop them spilling over into the neighbouring streets.
But Westminster’s licensing committee did not go as far as many would have liked.
They did not impose the blanket ban on outdoor drinking that some were calling for, nor did they bring forward the curfew to 9pm as expected.
Drinkers will be allowed to remain outside until 10pm – half an hour earlier than before – but landlords have promised an end to disturbances, bringing in a new live-in manager and employing a permanent outdoor bouncer to monitor noise around Nottingham Street and the high street.
The battle between the pub and neighbours has been waging for almost three years. Some got so annoyed with the constant racket that they started taking pictures of the crowds and sending them into the council.
One resident, who asked to remain anonymous said: “I expect that when the long evenings return things will just go back to how they were. 10pm is far too late in such a residential area and I have no confidence that the landlords will improve things.
“At its worst it’s like living next to a football match. I feel the council have been very weak on this.”
A spokesman for the Prince Regent said: “The Prince Regent is a historic, listed pub providing a high quality offer of food and drinks for local customers.
“We have in place an experienced manager and team who are committed to running the pub in a highly-responsible manner.
“We are keen to work with local residents to address any concerns they may have whilst also ensuring our customers can continue to enjoy visiting the pub.”
Explaining the decision, Councillor Audrey Lewis, chairwoman of the licensing sub-committee said: “It was clear residents and their families had been suffering from noisy customers at the Prince Regent.
“But Mitchells & Butlers, which own the pub, are responsible landlords on the whole and they have brought in a new manager, who will live at the pub, to reduce noise.
“It has also been agreed that the street near the zebra crossing will be kept clear, so it did not seem proportionate to impose more severe conditions on the licence.”
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