Bosses at a new bar in Heaton have denied that they risk creating “another Osborne Road”.
The stylish Flight Bar opened on Heaton Road late last year as a sister venue to the hugely successful restaurant Nest, which has earned critical acclaim and a place in the Michelin Guide since launching in 2021. But the team behind the venture were forced to appear before councillors on Tuesday, in a dispute over the drinking establishment’s licence.
The bar has asked Newcastle City Council to sign off on extending its opening hours until 11.30pm and changing its operating style so that it is not required to have a “substantial” food menu. However, the plans drew the ire of one local resident who said he feared Heaton replicating Jesmond’s infamous drinking strip, while local authority officials say that Flight is operating without the proper planning permission.
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Jack Brown, one of Flight co-owners, said there had been a “gap in the market” in Heaton for venues offering a more “sensible” experience than traditional pubs and now wants to expand from Nest’s success with the new bar, plus plans for another bistro that are also in the works. Mr Brown said he did not want Flight to be “hamstrung” by having to operate under the same licence that the former Milk Bar café did before it closed down, with the council’s licensing sub-committee told that the venue is currently throwing away more food than it sells.
He added: “I cannot continue to have food on the premises for the entire length and duration we are open simply to then put it in the bin. That is not what our customer base is looking for, they are coming for a drink before going to a restaurant or for a post-meal drink.”
But local resident Hamish Moore claimed that Flight is “in effect a pub” and alleged that it was in breach of its current licence with a food offer of “pork pies, bowls of olives, and chocolate brownies”.
Mr Moore, who also chairs the council’s audit committee, told Tuesday’s licensing hearing that the venue could be a disturbance and potential crime in the middle of a residential neighbourhood – with existing pubs like The Chillingham and the Corner House instead found at the “extremities” of the area. He added: “If you were to approve this you could fundamentally change the fabric of Heaton and, I think, potentially create another Osborne Road.”
Meanwhile, the city council’s planning department complained that, following its refurbishment of the old Milk Bar, Flight had reopened in December without getting the required planning permission that would allow it to operate as a bar and is “subject to investigation by the planning enforcement team”.
Solicitor Matt Foster, representing Flight’s owners, told the committee that the bar was a “high-end” location specialising in quality cocktails, beers, and wines – and that there had been no complaints and “no evidence” of problems since it opened. He said that 70% of the bar’s space would be taken up by tables and chairs, pledging it would not be the kind of “vertical drinking” venue seen in busy parts of Jesmond or the city centre.
Urging councillors to approve the licence changes, Mr Foster said: “This is an established operator with bags of experience that has invested in this experience and created jobs for the area.”
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