The Hive Cocktail Bar in Southsea will be allowed to be open for later despite fears over noise

Portsmouth City Council’s licensing sub-committee granted the extension of the bar’s opening hours after a plea from the owner who said it was needed so he could make a profit. The bar will be allowed to open from midday to 1am Monday to Thursday and from midday until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays. ‘Mechanical’ music, such as DJ performances, will cease at midnight at any night, background music will then be permitted to play until close.

Lorraine Astill, principal regulatory service officer, raised concerns over a flat located directly above the bar and numerous letters written by residents who fear that the extended hours could create a public nuisance.

She said: “The noise management plan stated that the music in the building is not to exceed 87db, this is a level you would expect from a nightclub establishment and not a bar. I feel that there is currently a high risk that the proposed extension of operation hours is likely to result in public nuisance” She then recommended that the operating hours remain the same.

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In response, the applicant Andrew Aquilina said he has obtained a separate lease for the flat, which could be converted into an office. “Our operating hours aren’t allowing us to make a profit,’ he added. “In Osborne and Palmerston Road, a lot of places are open later than us, including places that are next door to us. There’s a restaurant a few doors down that’s open until 1 am, there’s another bar across the road that’s open until midnight.

“We have had no complaints from our neighbours directly to us – no one has ever called us to say that there’s a disturbance from noise. We are not a nightclub, we are a bar, our capacity is 50. I don’t know how many nightclubs you go to with 50 people.”

The bar, at 50 Osborne Road, opened in September last year and promises punters a “premium cocktail experience” along with a selection of wine and craft beers.