A Government appointed planning inspector has upheld an appeal by Wetherspoon to allow the gates on its £300,000 Keswick beer garden to remain open until 8pm.
The company, which runs the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, was successful in challenging the Lake District National Park Authority’s decision that the garden had to close at 6pm because later opening hours risked causing an unacceptable disturbance to nearby residential properties and guest houses.
“By its nature, the use of the site would cause noise to spill beyond its bounds,” said the inspector in his report. “This would primarily be in conjunction with people’s voices, which may have a propensity to increase in volume as the evening continues or when the site might be particularly busy.
“However, the proposed extension of hours is limited. It would not extend into a time of day when the majority of those occupying residential or holiday accommodation would anticipate night time levels of noise, nor would they generally be perceived as being unsociable hours.”
The inspector added that much of the seating area is set below the elevated level of Bank Street and contained within a lockable enclosure consisting of a mix of railed fencing and stone walling. Part of the fencing is supplemented by a glazed balustrade above the wall which the inspector said would offer some degree of noise containment and the ability for the site operator to control access.
“Although the noise generated by the site would be discernible from traffic noise, there is little to demonstrate that it would have an adverse effect on nearby occupiers during the early to mid-evening hours, or that it would be more persistent and less tolerable than traffic noise on the intervening road,” said the inspector, adding: “I acknowledge that there might be concentrated levels of activity on certain occasions.
“However, the implementation of a proposed management regime to ensure behavioural expectations and the limitations of use hours are regulated, would offer the comfort that should noisy events arise, they would be addressed and would not be persistent.”
The inspector ruled that, subject to the implementation of the premises management plan, the proposal would maintain high standards of living conditions for nearby residents and occupiers of local guesthouses.
It was also noted by the inspector that the outcome of this appeal could lead to proposals to extend the times of use further. If that were to occur, the inspector said that those proposals would similarly be considered on their own merits.
