An Alsager cocktail bar's application to be allowed to open for an extra hour on Sundays, which was met with objections by local residents, has been considered by Cheshire East.

At Thursday's Cheshire East Council meeting of the Licensing Act Sub-Committee, councillors deliberated a full variation application to an existing premises licence for Fifty Five Degrees, on Crewe Road, Alsager.

The variation sought to extend the licensable hours on a Sunday by one hour from 10pm to 11pm.

Speaking at the licensing meeting, Andy Dean, a director at Fifty Five Degrees, said: "We submitted this application to bring the closing time in line with the other six days that we are open and to have a closing time, which I think everybody would see as being a regular closing time for any licensed establishment during the week of 11pm rather than 10pm.

"It just gives us an extra hour on a Sunday, if we have got some people who come in after having a meal, we don't have to stop serving at 10pm and they can stay there until 11pm.

"Sunday is not particularly a busy day for us, so I cannot see there being anymore noise then you would have on a Monday to Thursday."

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.

The licensable hours for Monday to Saturday would remain as currently authorised which was Monday to Thursday (10am to 11pm) and Friday/Saturday 10am to 1am.

Fifty Five Degrees, which has an indoor capacity of 75 people, is a terraced property selling craft ales, wines, cocktails and spirits for consumption both on and off the premises.

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

However, four objections had been received from local residents.

Expressing his concerns at Thursday's meeting, Steve Butterfield wanted to remind business owners that Alsager was "largely a residential area".

Mr Butterfield added: "I live in a part of Alsager which is behind the bar and across from the park [Milton Park], my concern really comes from open doors/windows and beer gardens, particularly if music was being played in the summer."

Mr Dean highlighted that the potential for noise would be no greater during the extra hour the bar is applying for then the hours before.

The meeting was told that the only noise coming from within the bar was background recorded music.

Mr Dean said: "We have got a beer garden, it is not particularly big, but there will be people drinking out there I hope, but again for the hour on the Sunday, it's not a particularly busy time of the week for us.

"We are trying if we can to stay open for that hour to try and maybe take a few more pounds to help us along the way. We don't want to miss an opportunity for that last hour of trading.

"I think our record speaks for itself, we have been in business now for two years, even though a lot of the last 12 months has been under lockdown.

"I'm not aware of any residents coming into the bar and complaining and there are other noisy bars around us."

Fellow Alsager resident, Rachel White said: "I'm not a kill joy and I am aware how horribly hospitality has been hit in the last 14 months and I do enjoy visiting the bars in the town.

"But I do feel we need to balance what's happening in the town centre, the hospitality sector and other sectors as well as residents.

"I think there is an issue with all licence premises' opening until late, there is an issue with anti-social behaviour from excess drinking.

"I think up until 10pm on a Sunday is fine for people to have a drink.

"As local residents, me and my husband are tolerant of noise, we know that people want to be out enjoying themselves, but we also need our quiet times too and I think Sunday should be a quieter day.

"I don't think extending opening hours on a day which is already quiet is a particularly good thing."

Alsager Town Councillor, Pauline Hubbard felt there was a "collective issue" in Alsager with residents moving from "place to place" in the evenings due to the number of bars in the town centre.

Cllr Hubbard said: "We have a thriving night-time economy but balancing that out for our residents is critical.

"The residents here [speaking at the meeting] are being battered between the two ends [of Alsager Town Centre] because they are sandwiched in-between and there are a great number of residents impacted by this."

Despite the Government planning to ease Covid-19 restrictions further in the next two stages of the roadmap out of lockdown (17th May and 21st June), Cllr Hubbard felt that some people will want to continue to sit outdoors at hospitality venues.

Cllr Hubbard continued: "I am sure Mr Dean is welcoming that [easing of restrictions] because it has been a really tough time for everybody.

"However, people will want to be outdoors, it will be difficult for people who will want to have the social distancing in place for some time."

Referring directly to Fifty Five Degrees, Cllr Hubbard added: "Although there is the intention to keep the music inside, there will naturally I believe be the combination of COVID and social distancing where people will want to be outside.

"This is not only going to be at Fifty Five Degrees but this will be for The Bar and Caster's. All this accumulative noise really does impact on the residents within the area.

"If this is a quiet Sunday, I do not understand why the increase in hours is being requested."

Mr Dean felt that Fifty Five Degrees was being "tarred with the same brush" due to the likes of Caster's playing outside music.

He added: "It seems that if we open, we're going to be naturally as noisy. Station Road where there seems to be the least worry that noise will drift across to is actually 200 yards away from the back of our premises.

"If you added on the beer garden then it would be around 215 yards away from Station Road and I am absolutely certain that if we opened all our doors and windows and had music on, you couldn't hear it, it's just background music in the bar, it's not booming or loud."

Mr Dean told the committee that the bar had "no intention" of playing any form of music outside their premises.

Speaking in support of the application, Mr Dean concluded: "The last thing we want to be is a nuisance to Alsager and its residents, we have lived in the town for nearly 25 years.

"We will do our utmost. We are not whiter than white; we obviously have noise when people are sat out in our beer garden. I would personally like to think it isn't raucous or over the top.

"But if anyone ever wants to come in and talk to us at any time then please do. We are only asking for this application for an additional hour.

"I think one of the complainants said, 'why do you want to extend it if it's quiet', but that's just the reason why we want to, because there might be a chance to sell another £50 worth of drinks in that last hour if we were open.

"We have two good nights a week, Friday and Saturday, the other nights are very quiet indeed."

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

Fifty Five Degrees reopened on April 12 for al-fresco drinking, as per the relaxation of the Government's lockdown restrictions.

Until pubs are allowed to open fully, customers can take advantage of a large, heated outside seating area.