Penny Lane Wine Bar granted fresh premises licence but could face issues with planning department over hours
Penny Lane Wine Bar
A wine bar on one of Liverpool’s most famous streets could still face sanction from the city council despite being granted a fresh premises licence. Penny Lane Wine Bar has been given permission to open until 12.30am at weekends after a local authority hearing on Thursday.
However, planning officials have warned it could face an enforcement notice if it doesn’t comply with building regulations around district centres. This has prompted the historic venue’s owner to say curbing the hours of operation would effectively mean shutting down the business.
Applicant Francye Woods has been granted permission to serve customers until 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays and an hour earlier through the week. This came amid opposition from residents and local authority members about alleged noise issues.
After the previous company responsible for the business went into liquidation, a new licence was sought. It has been operating on temporary event notices for the past five weeks.
Since 1993, planning control was placed on the building which restricted use of the site to 11.30pm. Despite this, the council’s building control department launched a probe into alleged activities beyond the agreed terminal deadline.
Officer Stuart Clark said complaints were first received in 2022, five years after current operator Ms Woods took on the venue. Mr Clark said a letter was sent to the business in August 2022 instructing them to cease operations beyond the agreed time.
He said a follow-up enforcement notice was due to be issued in the coming weeks.
Ms Woods told councillors how she “didn’t have a clue” about the building restrictions and first became aware of the 11.30pm rule until last year when she received an enforcement notice.
Former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, Cllr Richard Kemp(Image: Liverpool Echo)
She said: “If I shut at 11.30, I may as well shut the business down.” It was alleged the business operated until as late as 1.45am on Fridays and Saturdays despite the warnings not to.
Ms Woods said the venue actually shuts “a bit early because it’s not worth it for a handful of people” on most occasions.
Cllr Richard Kemp, who represents the Penny Lane ward, said “a lot of residents were adversely affected” by the venue allegedly operating “at a time when they shouldn’t be opening.”
Both Cllr Kemp and a number of objectors said they didn’t oppose the wine bar as a business, rather noise being kept to a minimum around their homes.
He said it had become an “unacceptable nuisance” but did not want the premises shut down.
As a result, it was agreed to grant a premises licence with a terminal hour of 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
However, sanctions may still be imposed by the separate planning enforcement team, Mr Clark warned.