Police can't block bar's late licence (From Daily Echo)

Police can't block bar's late licence

8:40am Sunday 8th November 2009 in

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A NEW Southampton bar has had its drinking hours extended despite tough new licensing restrictions.

Police had attempted to block plans by Aura to serve alcohol until 2am rather than 11pm by invoking the socalled “cumulative impact policy”.

The new council restriction aims to curb later opening in certain areas unless it can be shown it won’t add to existing crime and disorder.

However, the bar, which opened recently in Lower Banister Street, has been handed permission to serve booze until 1.30am, and open until 2am, after tweaking their original demands.

The application was granted subject to a series of licensing conditions.

Aura’s solicitor Russell Mozumder said he was satisfied with the result, but that the hearing was “unnecessary”, arguing that the conditions could have been agreed at an earlier stage.