Residents opposed to Jesmond Dene House alcohol licence bid

Sep 26 2009 by Amy Hunt, The Journal

A ROW has broken out over a plush hotel’s bid to pull pints for non-residents.

Bosses of Jesmond Dene House in Newcastle are looking for permission to serve alcohol to customers who are not staying the night.

They also want to put champagne breakfasts on the menu which would mean selling alcohol from 7am during the week and 7.30am on the weekend.

But they are facing strong opposition from people living nearby, who claim they are trying to turn the upmarket hotel into another Jesmond pub.

The Jesmond Residents’ Association and the Jesmond Dene Estates Residents’ Association, along with 15 individuals, have lodged letters of objection with Newcastle City Council. The Jesmond Residents’ Association says people living near the hotel fear there will be an increase in noise and disturbance caused by people going to the hotel just to drink.

But the owners say they simply want to be able to pull a pint for people who call in after going for a walk around Jesmond Dene and are not trying to turn the hotel into a pub.

If the licence is granted, drinks could be served until midnight during the week and 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, which is already the case.

A spokesman for the association wrote to the council saying: “The proposed variation will attract drinkers from other establishments in Jesmond who will take advantage of the later hours.”

He has also risen concerns about the volume of traffic going to the hotel along Jesmond Dene Road.