A REVAMPED restaurant’s licence plan has been given the green light by the council as a 'bitter' row continues with its neighbours over late-night noise.

An application to alter the licence for the new Food and Liquor restaurant in Sidbury was approved by Worcester City Council after several concerns were raised about the new venue’s roof terrace and past problems with noise.

The new roof terrace was backed by council planners in February last year – but with a strict 11pm curfew and ban on playing music outside.

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The latest application asked for permission to change the licence to include the extension of the restaurant’s roof terrace, outdoor seating and first-floor bar – to match the changes included when the council approved the planning application.

The owners of the city centre restaurant were quizzed at a licensing meeting in the Guildhall on Wednesday (April 5) where they were asked to explain the planned changes to their licence in the face of criticism from neighbours.

Frances Fosh, who owns and lives above Charlie's Café in Sidbury, has fought several battles over noise with her immediate neighbour in its many guises over the years which have included the Glasshouse, Bindles and Primo, and again used the licensing meeting to describe the ‘hell’ she was being put through.

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Philip Rawle, agent for Burgoyne Property Investments run by Peter Burgoyne who has owned the building for several years, continued to distance the new ‘operators’ from Primo and the “historic issues” that resulted in several rows between the restaurant and its neighbours over noise and disruption.

He maintained there was “no link” between the new Food and Liquor managers and Primo and conflicts of the past ‘should not be used to stigmatise the new restaurant.’

“This building has been stood empty for nearly three-and-a-half-years and [the] local owners have committed significant resource to bring it forward as a new venue in the city, which will hopefully add to the city centre’s food and drink offering,” he said.

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Cllr Lynn Denham, who represents the Cathedral ward which includes Sidbury, said she would take the claim that Food and Liquor was a “new” venture at face value and hoped for better relations in the future.

“If it’s new management, then it’s new management,” she said at the licensing meeting. “We hope that the new manager operates better than the several iterations of management that there have been in the past.

“Unfortunately, the bitter experience to date, is that Fran has had the most appalling time having to live next door with everything that has happened there.

“This [process] has been incredibly stressful... We hope the future is better, experience of the past since the property was bought by Mr Burgoyne, I’m afraid to say, has been very, very difficult.”

The new ‘premises supervisor’ Ilir Fazliu is involved with Foregate Street venues Tonic, Fuego and Bolero as well as Coffee Dough in Crowngate Shopping Centre.