Concerns have been raised that neighbouring residents will be kept awake late at night if plans to extend the opening hours at a bar in Alsager are approved.

At Friday's (Friday, 30th April) Cheshire East Council meeting of the Licensing Act Sub-Committee, councillors deliberated a full variation application to an existing premises licence for The Bar, on Sandbach Road South, Alsager.

The Bar sells craft ales and spirits that can be consumed both on and off the premises.

Speaking at the licensing meeting, applicant Walter MacGowan, owner of The Bar, said: "For a Sunday we just wish to open until 11pm in line with other places and also to reflect that whilst we close at 9pm at the moment, we still have a demand to serve after that time, which we are not currently able to satisfy.

"Monday to Wednesday, we would like to open at 2pm instead of 4pm and on a Tuesday and Wednesday we would like to close at 11pm instead of 9pm.

"On a Thursday, we would like to open at 2pm instead of 4pm and on a Friday to open at 12pm instead of 2pm."

It is already allowed to sell alcohol until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and until 11pm on Mondays and Thursdays.

The Bar is located next to Costa Coffee, a physiotherapy and a dance studio area, none of which are occupied after 8pm.

The building behind the premises is the Alsager United Reformed Church which is not occupied after 7pm.

Mr MacGowan, a former prisoner governor, said: "We have been open for two and a half years and in that time, we have had to ban one person from the premises.

"Our clientele in the main are exceptional, we don't have a lot of noise, we don't play music outside, we don't play loud music at all.

"We have been a well-ordered house, we are not asking to go past midnight at any time, we don't want to do that. We just want to increase our envelope of time which in total is about 16 hours in the week.

"We generally run a good house and we are proud of it."

Mr MacGowan highlighted that The Bar has always had an outdoor seating area, which formed part of the original planning application for the premises.

During the statutory consultation period both Environmental Protection and Cheshire Police stated that they had no objections to the application.

Cllr Mark Goldsmith, chair of the Licensing Act Sub-Committee, highlighted that the committee could not look at the wider implications or accumulative matters on Alsager Town Centre when considering the application.

The process was instead to look at each case on its own merits.

However, four objections had been received from local residents.

One of those objectors was Rachel White, who said: "Me and my husband really like The Bar, it's a really different offering to other establishments in the town. You can easily go in and have different beer every time you enter the premises, they have a great range of drafts and very knowledgeable staff.

"We have no problem at all with the opening times being changed it's just the closing times. The hospitality sector is great, but we would like to see a balance with other sectors in the town centre and the residents who live nearby.

"We have lived at our property which is the same postcode as The Bar, which gives you an idea of how close we are. When we moved in there were six licensed premises' that are now open which weren't at that time.

"We would not have bought this property as our family home if we knew it would be in this situation."

Mrs White wanted Sunday to be left as a "quieter" day.

Mr MacGowan told the committee that the business has planted a trellis at the back of the premises to act as a screen and to reduce noise.

He added: "We are not seeking any hours which are different to the village. 11pm seems to be the standard time in a lot of places."

Mrs White highlighted that both Caster's and Fifty Five Degrees had also applied to extend their hours on a Sunday, which she also objected to.

She added: "It is not correct to say that everybody is open until 11pm."

Walter responded: "I think it is correct to say that everybody is wanting to open until 11pm."

Mrs White said: "Well that's very different."

Alsager Town Councillor Pauline Hubbard, who also objected to the application, said: "The area is surrounded by various properties. There is a block of flats and apartments across the road and there are people that live above the premises.

"The properties behind the building across Milton Park into Station Road, that's where there is a significant number of properties apart from those on Crewe Road.

"The issue that residents have is with noise, when music is played outside and it is accompanied by 'happy behaviour', the noise travels on still nights in particular and it travels to residents surrounding the area.

"This is having an accumulative effect on Alsager. The main concern is the Sunday time when people would like to see things be a lot quieter rather than them potentially escalating into being noisier."

Mr MacGowan told the committee that his current premises licence already gives him permission to open until 11pm on a Sunday that precedes a bank holiday.

A decision on the licensing application was made by the committee on Friday and all interested parties will be informed of the decision in five working days.

Councillors can either vote to grant the proposed licensing hours extension, with or without conditions, or to reject it.