Why Derbyshire pub has scrapped plans to sell booze until 5.30am

A Ripley pub has '˜changed its mind' on plans to play outdoor music until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays and serve alcohol until 5.30am every day of the week.

The Old Cock Inn, on Church Street, had made an application to Amber Valley Borough Council. A hearing was due to take place last Wednesday, but this was cancelled because the applicant had chosen to withdraw the application.

A spokesperson for the venue, which shares a site with The Association bar, said that ‘there was no reason’ for the withdrawal of the application, confirming that they had ‘just changed their mind’.

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The owners of the venue had wanted to attach two outdoor speakers on the pub’s terrace area and play recorded music from 11pm until 2am on every Friday, Saturday and bank holiday Sundays.

On top of this, they had applied to extend the period in which they can sell alcohol.

As it stands the venue currently sells alcohol from 10am to 3.30am – this would have been extended to 10am until 5.30am. Recorded music is currently played from 10am until 3.30am, and until 4am on Saturdays.

This would have been extended to 10am until 6am every day of the week, with the addition of outdoor music from 11pm until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.

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The venue’s general opening hours would also have been changed alongside this from the current 10am until 3.30am, with a 4am closure on Saturdays, to 10am until 6am.

Residents near the venue had said that it was already proving to be a nuisance with revellers shouting, whistling, and banging on doors and windows being a common occurrence. The council’s principal pollution officer, Melanie Goodier, said that, if approved, the application risked setting a precedent for other venues in the town.

She said this ‘collectively, could have a serious cumulative impact on local residents’.

She added: “In our experience, music played outdoors at night, particularly dance music, which has a significant bass content, is likely to cause unreasonable and unacceptable levels of disturbance.”