St Joseph's submit alcohol licence application
St Joseph's Catholic Church in Chalfont St Peter has applied to extend the hours in which it is allowed to stay open and serve alcohol leaving nearby residents angry.
The church wants to be allowed to use its hall in Austenwood Common to sell alcohol and stay open later than it is currently allowed.
It has applied to Chiltern District Council for permission to serve alcoholic drinks every day from noon until midnight, on Sundays until 10.30pm and on special occasions until 2am.
It also wants to extend its opening hours, and the times in which it is allowed to play live or recorded music, but the plans have resulted in several letters of objection from people who live nearby.
In one letter, Colin Taylor, of Priory Way, said: "I would not object to the facilities being available until 11pm most evenings, but the request seems to be to stay open until midnight daily and until 2am on special occasions. There may be the odd occasion when a late licence may be looked on favourably but surely these should be considered individually. To grant the request as it stands would be to give the licensee carte blanche to open as they wish.
"This application, if granted, could turn the centre into a night club and help extend the area of crime, disorder and public nuisance from the centre of Chalfont St Peter towards Gerrards Cross."
Another letter, from a couple called Mr and Mrs Black of Priory Road, says: "In the summer, this venue gets very hot and during events the windows have all been open, making the noise disruption greater. If this were to carry on until 2am, this would further add to local residents' misery and could be further compounded as it is likely that we would be sleeping with our windows open as well.
"In the winter months when the evenings are dark the street lights turn off around midnight. This would add to the potential risk for opportunist crime."
A decision on the application is due to made by CDC on Thursday.
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