A new bistro planning to offer cocktails and Scandinavian food is coming to Wirral after council chiefs backed their licence.
Lateral, on Banks Road in West Kirby, had its plan to serve alcohol alongside a food offering including plant based products and Scandinavian cuisine, approved by Wirral Council’s Licensing Panel.
Lateral is currently operating as a takeaway coffee shop and will continue to function as a coffee outlet until 5pm each day once covid rules change, before turning into a bistro after that.
The decision was published by the council after the applicant had been informed.
The premises will be able to open from 8.30am-10pm and serve alcohol from 5pm-9.30pm.
The applicants had wanted longer hours, enabling them to serve alcohol from 11am until 10.30pm, and open from 8.30am until 11pm, but the panel imposed the more limited hours.
Other conditions including noise limiting technology were added to Lateral’s licence in an effort to reassure residents concerned about noise.
At the Licensing Panel, it was argued that Lateral could become a noise nuisance to residents living above the premises and the applicants were hiding their true intentions.
Rather than offering alcohol to go with food, Cllr Alison Wright, who represents Hoylake and Meols, said there seemed to be more promotion of cocktails and wine than food on the bistro’s social media pages.
She added that Lateral is located in a quiet part of town with many young families and retired residents living nearby, making a late night drinking venue unsuitable.
Another problem for Cllr Wright was that residents in the flats above the shop could hear recorded music being played at Lateral.
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Solicitor James Daglish said nearby services shut in the late afternoon and evening, even the Bargain Booze store closes at 9pm, demonstrating that the area is not suitable for late night businesses.
Mr Daglish also suggested that Lateral may turn into a “vertical drinking” establishment, a business dominated by alcohol rather than the classy food offering the applicants were trying to portray.
Warren Norton, one of the applicants, said Lateral would be based on quality and not quantity, with food being a key part of the business.
Mr Norton said he did not picture people standing at the bar drinking, something more associated with pubs, instead Lateral would be a sit-down restaurant in which people could have alcohol to go with their food.
He also said that live music would not be played, to allay the concerns of residents on noise, and that mineral wool insulation would be installed to further limit the spread of noise to flats upstairs.
A phone app capable of limiting noise generated by recorded music would also be installed.
