Swanwick Marina restaurant told it can’t serve alcohol until 1am after late-night noise concerns

The temporary pop-up cafe will be able to serve drinks until 11pm as it tries to ‘mirror’ the former cafe on the site while it is being rebuilt. In 2023, the old Boat House Café, which had been operating under its existing licence since 2005, was demolished to make way for a new building. Council documents said the application wanted hours to be the same as the old Boat House Café, which should be back open by July. However, the applicants agreed to move last orders from 1am to 11pm after discussions with police.

The decision by Fareham Borough Council’s licensing committee means Premier Marinas/Ideal Collection’s temporary cafe will be allowed to sell alcohol between 7.30am and 11pm, play recorded music from 9am until 11pm and host live music from midday until 11pm seven days a week. The cafe will close 20 minutes after the licensing hours end to allow customers to finish their drinks and leave in a quiet and orderly manner, applicants said.

Oliver Weeks, who has been managing director of the Boat House for 12 years, said: “We are a restaurant/cafe, predominantly food-led. We are not a nightclub and we are not putting on events for the sole use of alcohol and music. We are predominantly a food-led business, operating five venues in Hampshire.”

Steven Moore, applicant and manager at Premier Marinas, said there was a DJ last summer but they have string quartets and saxophonists playing background music for diners, as one-off events. The licensing panel was assured the venue was not looking to turn into a nightclub with disco lighting and those conditions are stipulated in the licence. Manager Oliver Weeks said only a small Bluetooth speaker is used. During the 28-day consultation exercise carried out by the council, the main concern was the potential for the cafe to create noise and a nuisance.