A Lark Lane venue has won a battle with local councillors to change its licence.
Polidor, one of a number of locations owned by businessman Robert Gutmann in the South Liverpool hotspot, won approval from Liverpool Council’s licensing and gambling sub-committee to serve alcohol to customers without the need for table service.
St Michaels ward member, Cllr Tom Crone, said by approving the application, the sub-committee had “failed in its duty to protect people in the Lark Lane area.”
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The restaurant will now be able to provide alcohol to customers without the need for a meal to be ordered during its trading hours of 11am to 11pm, Monday to Sunday.
Solicitor Carl Bruder, on behalf of Polidor, said that despite the change in licensing conditions, “there will be no vertical drinking in the business” and the application represented a “tweak” in existing regulations.
Mr Bruder said the venue had “four blemish free years” since opening its doors in 2018 and the new licence would allow patrons to come in for a casual drink and would afford the business the ability to not have to turn potential customers away who did not want to eat.
He added that the “simplistic” application was for a business that would “remain food driven” and described concerns raised by councillors as “generic” and were “not applicable or tailored to the site.”
Cllr Crone, leader of the Green Party group on the local authority, expressed worries that as Lark Lane is a “primarily residential area” it does not have big premises akin to those in the city centre to host people seeking to solely consume alcohol.
He said there was a “need to maintain balance” between supporting businesses and the impact on residents - many of which would be affected by the licence amendment.
Cllr Crone added that an increase in “rowdy drinking” after football matches could occur and there was a potential increase in fighting in the area.
Polidor is among a number of popular sites owned by Mr Gutmann on Lark Lane, including The Old School House, The Ink in the Well, The Bookbinder and Love and Rockets.
Committee chair Cllr Christine Banks granted the licensing amendment, informing those in objection they had up to 21 days to appeal via the magistrates court.
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