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Day: 2 December 2017

Multiple Fallowfield venues breach planning licenses

Several popular bars and takeaways have been found to be operating illegally in Fallowfield.

The Mancunion has found that both The Font and Revolution, on Wilmslow Road, have been violating their planning permissions by opening past their licensed operating hours.

Takeaway Venice Pizza, also on Wilmslow Road, is also currently opening after hours. It opens until 4 am every night, but is only licensed to operate until 1 am.

Bar and restaurant The Font opens until 1 am every night, but is only legally allowed to operate until 11:30 pm.

Likewise, Revolution Fallowfield is only licensed to open until 1am but operates until 2 am every night of the week.

Council documents obtained by The Mancunion clearly show that the Fallowfield bars have been breaching their planning and building licenses for years.

In 2011, The Font applied for planning permission to open until 1:30 am but were dismissed by Manchester City Council.

In 2008 and 2009, Revolution submitted multiple applications to operate until 2 am – which the Council also rejected.

In Revolution’s rejection, the Council wrote that opening to 2 am would have “an unacceptable impact” on neighbouring residents.

The Font was similarly banned from extending their opening hours because of “increased noise and activity at a time when residents would normally be sleeping.”

Venice Pizza’s application to extend its opening hours was rejected in 2007 because “its extended use would lead to an unacceptable level of noise to the detriment of the residential amenity of the area and in particular the occupiers of the living accommodation forming part of the building above the premises.”

By refusing to comply with the Council’s guidance, both bars and the takeaway violate policies DC10, DC26, H2.2 and RF1 in the Unitary Development Plan for the City of Manchester.

On Friday, the 3rd of November, eight venues in Fallowfield, including The Font, Revolution Fallowfield, and Fallow Café, were served notices by Manchester City Council for violating their legal opening hours.

Nonetheless, The Font and Revolution Fallowfield have not changed their opening times.

Fallow Café, which used to open until 3 am, immediately updated their closing hours to 1 am after receiving their notice.

Zara, manager of Fallow Café, told The Mancunion that they “set the closing time as 1 am just to adhere to protocol.

“We hope that if we show them that we listen and go by the rules then they’ll extend our Planning License to 3 am.”

Venues like Fallow Café operate under two licenses: a Premises License, and a Planning and Building License.

Managers at Fallow Café explained that their Premises License extends until 3 am, so they’d previously thought that they could operate legally up to this hour.

Zara claimed that they were never told before that their Planning and Building License limits their business activity to 1 am.

Allegedly, the Council investigated and put Fallowfield venues on notice in November because of a complaint made by a representative of the residents committee during Freshers’ Week — however, this has not been confirmed.

All venues were given 28 days to update their opening hours in accordance to the law, meaning The Font and Revolution Fallowfield have missed their deadline of the 1st of December.