New Macy Brown's bar given permission to open at Whitby Harbour despite concerns over drunken behaviour

Teesside businessman Paolo Arceri has transformed the former Youth Shack building on New Quay Road into a venue for residents and visitors.

Scarborough Council held a hearing before Christmas to decide whether to grant Macy Brown’s @ the Harbour, as it has been called, a premises licence following objections from the police and public.

Today, the council has announced that its licensing sub-committee has granted the licence request.

During last month’s hearing, Mr Arceri said that claims from members of the public that the bar would bring anti-social behaviour was unfounded.

He said: “Macy Brown’s is strictly table service, it very much operates like a restaurant. You must have a table to get served any alcohol. There is no vertical drinking.

“The entry level cocktails start at £7, we are very much serving food, high-end cocktails and wine, tapas and snacks so it isn’t an alcopops and young, stand at the bar drinking venue.

“I have been in the catering and bar business for over 30 years and we want to be successful there and we want to liaise with residents and don’t want any problems.”

The youth club, which was home to the Youth Shack, has been vacant since January 2019 and is located above a public toilet.

Mr Arceri, who runs also Macy Brown’s venues in Middlesbrough, Yarm and Guisborough, was granted planning permission by Scarborough Council in September turn the venue into a bar.

During December’s licensing hearing he agreed to reduce the opening hours of the Whitby premises to 10am until midnight from Sunday to Thursday.

The bar would be open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. Alcohol will cease to be sold 30 minutes from closing time.

PC Debbie Chadwick of North Yorkshire Police’s alcohol licensing officer said that she was happy with the amendments put forward by Mr Arceri, which also included the use of door staff at the venue and limits on when under 18s could be inside the premises.

The Youth Shack sits within Whitby’s cumulative impact zone, which brings with it a presumption that applications for new licences will normally be refused if relevant objections are received.

In coming to its decision, the council’s licensing sub-committee said that Mr Arceri had satisfied them that “the premises will not add to the problems already generated by the concentration of licensed premises in the area”.