THE owners of a deli will not be allowed to open as later as they wanted to after the council scaled back their plans following complaints from neighbours about noise.
Sangers Deli in Netherton Court off Infirmary Walk in Worcester has been given permission to extend its opening hours but a move to stay open until after midnight was quashed by councillors.
The deli, which sells sandwiches, will now be allowed to open from 11am until 10pm between Sunday and Tuesday, 11pm every Wednesday and Thursday and 11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays – later than the usual 9.30pm weekday and 10.30pm weekend closures.
The new owners Joseph and Annemarie Murcott agreed to cut back their intended opening hours following a less-than-enthusiastic reaction from their neighbours.
The move was condemned by residents living in neighbouring Magdala Court ahead of Monday’s licensing meeting, who said they already face trouble with the Arch Rivals Brewery and the late-night plans for Sangers Deli would “double the amount of noise.”
At the meeting in the Guildhall on Monday (August 21), the committee was played a recording of the noise between Magdala Court and the Arches made by environmental health workers, who said they were “seriously” concerned by the escalating noise if the opening hours were extended.
One objector, Margaret-Anne Stocker of Magdala Court, said at the meeting: “It’s unbelievable that instead of curtailing the nuisance element of Arch Rivals, we’re potentially granting another licence which would increase the overall problem, to the detriment of local residents.
“People have already moved out of Magdala Court because of the noise.
“We have no axe to grind with Sangers at all, we’ve had no problems, they’ve been very good neighbours. We’re just very concerned about this extension over midnight.”
Trevor Chalk, an environmental health officer at Worcestershire Regulatory Services, said extending the opening hours past 11pm would “very clearly cause unreasonable distress” and he had felt the need to step in to “protect residents.”
The deli was set up by Worcester Warriors teammates Niall Annett and Ethan Waller in 2021 in one of the city’s historic railway arches but the pair have since left the city, and the business, following the demise of the rugby club.
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