Violence fears as residents fight extension to pub opening hours

The owners of the Barnbow in Crossgates, Leeds – formerly the Manston – have applied to Leeds Council to serve alcohol until midnight on Friday and Saturday nights. With a 30-minute drinking up time, it will mean drinkers leaving the premises at around 12.30am at the weekends and 11.30pm on weekdays.

Locales say the Barnbow has been a quiet, well-run pub for the past few years, in contrast to its previous reputation.

In a letter to the authority's licensing committee, resident Debar Welch said the removal of the pub's late-night drinking license had had a dramatic effect on the pub's clientele and her own peace and quiet.

She wrote: "We no longer have the noise of its customers singing and shouting on their way home, and not had any damage to our cars (unlike a few years ago)."

She added: "To open till midnight, being the only pub in the area to do so, would be like stepping back in time a few years. We would have the noise of the putters after closing time at other nearby pubs going to the Barnbow, then again after midnight when they leave, even more drunk, loud and oblivious to whom they disturb."

Austhorpe Road resident Alan Schofield said the extended opening would create a rush of drinkers from other pubs.

In a letter, he said: "Since the Barnbow was changed it has become a more pleasant pub and the current management are doing a fantastic job with their range and quality of beers and food."

Neighbourhood Watch member Len Gillian, of the Pendas Walk area, has told the licensing committee he is "extremely disturbed" by the application to extend the opening hours. He wrote: "Families in the houses adjacent to the Carvery, many of them elderly, will suffer extreme disturbance well up to 1am.

"We had a long battle to stop this rowdy behaviour several years ago and to allow this extension will re-introduce the disturbance. The rowdy and drunken behaviour will affect the Pendas, Austhorpe and Devon pub surrounding areas aggravated by people dashing from the Devon to the Barnbow for an extra hour drinking."

Resident David Rhodes said: "The premises are situated in a suburban, domestic area which is totally unsuitable for late night drinking. The improvement in behaviour of the pub's customers only dates from the time when its extended opening hours were stopped, some five years ago."

And objector Tom Harrison has told the council: "My wife and I are over 80 years old and we are very apprehensive about these proposed changes."

Lesley Warriner, also of Crossgates, who is also objecting, said: "I moved to Crossgates from Headingley after living there for 20 years so I am very well aware of how increased licensing hours can impact on the local community."

Three people wrote in support of the application, including local man Gary Heaton, who praised the landlord for having "zero tolerance to anti-social behaviour".

Yesterday commercial director Simon Dodd of the Orchid Group, owners of the Barnbow, said: "We've asked for a slight extension to the Barnbow's opening hours to allow more flexibility for those dining with us.

"We're very much a family orientated pub and are in no way trying to make this a late-night venue. The revised hours would see a 12.30am closing time on Friday and Saturday as well as an extra hour on Sunday."

Members of the licensing committee meet at 10am next Monday, to discuss the application.