OBJECTING neighbours have had mixed success so far in their opposition to the longer drinking hours being applied for at Farnham's hostelries under controversial new licensing laws. Compromise seemed to be the order of the day last Thursday for Waverley's licensing sub-committee, which is in the early stages of dealing with a deluge of applications. The Crown at Badshot Lea secured a later closing time on every night of the week, but an earlier time than it had hoped for. The Bat and Ball at Boundstone, in the face of 18 public objections, persuaded the panel to allow alcohol to be sold up until 1-30 am on up to 10 special occasions a year and for "drinking-up time" to be extended to 45 minutes after alcohol sales cease at 11 pm each day. But councillors were less sympathetic over applications for music in The Bat and Ball garden, limiting this to a two-hour session on six Sunday afternoons per year. Putting the case for The Crown, Michael Clist of the Fullers Brewery stressed that the pub was always run in an orderly fashion. "We are not High Street operators. We don't run any trouble houses, we don't discount drinks." Mr Clist said the police had been in touch and in a move to appease the objectors, the applicant had cut the hours it was seeking for the sale of alcohol to midnight on Mondays to Thursdays and 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays (originally the application had been for until 1 am on Mondays to Thursdays and 2 am on Fridays and Saturdays). He said that it was not the intention to use the full hours every night of the week, "but if trade demands, we would stay open". He said the pub was seeking the flexibility which he believed was the intention of the new licensing laws. The landlady, Barbara Barnes, said she did her utmost to to clamp down on rowdy behaviour: "I have been called the dragon, my dog is called George, hence they wanted to rename the pub. I can only do my best." And she explained: "It is a village pub, but we have to move with the times. If we are going to stop with the hours we have got, people would not come in and it will cripple me." Three residents attended the hearing to oppose the application and told of the noise they already suffer from music at the pub and customers leaving and shouting their goodbyes. Barbara Pawley, who lives in the cottage adjoining the pub, described the landlady as "marvellous", but said her health was already affected by disturbance from the premises. She was particularly concerned about sports events being shown on TV. "It does resonate very loudly through the pub. And, quite rightly, when people are watching sports they get excited, they cheer, and they might as well be in my living room. If this is going to go on late at night..." "It's just the noise is going to carry on past midnight and that is the objection," said another resident, Elizabeth Poole. "If you can keep the windows closed and the sound turned down, that would be useful." Andrew Burford said the cottages next to the pub were tiny, with bedrooms that face onto the road, where cars parked only a metre away from the properties. Residents suffered noise from pub customers outside their windows on their mobiles and taxis sounding their horns. "It just means that instead of being 11ish, which we tolerated, it will be 11-30 or 12-30," he said. He commented: "We like the pub, it has good beer. It is a shame they haven't talked to us about the issue of soundproofing." But Mr Clist said that soundproofing was "irrelevant" to the application and that he assumed that Mr Burford must have had a survey done when he bought his cottage. But after an hour considering their decision in private, panel chairman John Sandy stated that the sub-committee considered more must be accomplished for neighbours in the area of public nuisance. He announced permission for alcohol to be sold until 11 pm on Mondays to Thursdays, midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 pm on Sundays, closing time to be 30 minutes after those times. The beer garden may not be used after 11 pm and there may be no music outdoors after 7 pm. Turning to The Bat and Ball application, the sub-committee was told by landlord Kevin Macready that he was disappointed by the number of objectors. "Both our staff and ourselves run a very professional business. We are very mindful of our unique location in the neighbourhood and we are determined to provide a service which is an essential part of the community," he said. Initially he had applied for an extension to 1- 30 am for up to 30 special occasions a year, but had reduced that. "Bad behaviour is dealt with immediately. We warn once, and if there is a repetition, we don't want that person's business." One of the three objectors voicing the neighbourhood's concerns, Alan McCormick, said that in general, everyone was "really happy" with the pub. The main concerns, he said, were over extending the hours, the noise created by outside drinking and the proposal to have live music in the garden on summer Sunday afternoons. Another near resident, Brian Mills, commented: "The pub has given a good service. It is a well-run pub in many respects, except for noise at closing time." He said that the resurfacing of the formerly potholed single track to the pub had increased the speed of traffic, and residents were often subjected to late-night altercations between motorists refusing to back up. Candy Budgen, whose garden adjoins the pub, recounted a recent incident when she was woken at 12-20 am "by a gaggle of males, drunk, effing and blinding". She also complained that a boundary hedge and a screening building had been removed, leaving her house illuminated by the pub garden spotlights, sometimes until 1-30 am. "We have been very tolerant, we are now on zero tolerance," she said. The sub-committee agreed to vary the licence to allow allow alcohol to be served up to 1-30 am on up to 10 special occasions a year, with closing time set at 1-45 am on those occasions. They also agreed 45 minutes' "drinking-up" time each day. But they limited the outdoor Sunday music sessions to six per year, instructed that the beer garden lights must be turned off at 11- 15 pm each day and that the lights must be modified to prevent the illumination of Mrs Budgen's property. Hearings into two other Farnham licensing applications due to take place yesterday (Thursday) were called off after the applicants modified their requested hours. The Queens Head in the Borough has been granted a variation to its licence allowing the serving of alcohol until 11-30 pm on Sunday to Wednesday, midnight on Thursday and 12- 30 pm on Friday and Saturday. The Albion in Hale Road will be allowed to serve until 11-30 am on Monday to Wednesday, midnight on Thursday and 1 pm on Friday and Saturday. Both pubs will be allowed 30 minutes' "drinking-up" time each day.
