A pub that has faced "problems regarding noise" in the past has applied to have its premises licence varied.
Kitty O'Sheas on James Street, Pontardawe has applied to Neath Port Talbot Council (NPTC) to remove a condition to its licence stating that "the beer garden and any other outside area shall not be used after [11.30pm]".
Currently, smokers at the pub will use the pavement outside the front of the premises, which has resulted in a number of issues regarding noise - something that has prompted the pub to apply to vary it's licence.
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The pub owners have also applied to add a new smoking shelter in the rear beer garden and add a new emergency fire exit.
A report of the Head of Legal Services at NPTC says that the Police, the Council's Legal Regulatory Service and Environmental Health "raised concerns in regard to the potential increased noise nuisance and requested additional conditions be attached to the licence."
The report adds that the applicants have agreed to the majority of conditions requested.
However, no agreement has been reached by the parties involved on the maximum number of customers permitted to use the smoking area after 11.30pm.
The requested condition as it stands states that a maximum of four customers only shall be allowed to use the smoking area.
Other proposed conditions include that no drinks should be taken into any outside area after 11.30pm and "prominent signs" must be provided requesting people in the shelter to keep quiet to "minimise impact on residents".
A representation from South Wales Police's Police Licensing Officer, Nick Bailey, states: "The reality of the situation is that changing the location of the smoking area will not remove all noise disruption but will merely move it to another area, potentially affecting a different set of neighbours, and it is clear that this change has been brought about as a result of ongoing [and] frequent complaints from residents affected by noise from use of the front of the premises.
"We must, therefore, be very careful that the rear beer garden has been chosen for the right reasons, rather than merely an area which has historically not attracted the same level of complaints about noise."
The letter from the licensing officer adds: "What is clear is that while smokers must be able to smoke somewhere this does not mean that the potential risks of noise disturbance should be ignored.
"I am sure that a formula for maximum numbers of people to available space exists but in this case what the appropriate number would be for such an area I am not technically qualified to determine, and so would defer to the opinion of someone more qualified in this area, but I feel that 6 is excessive and likely to cause noise problems as outlined above."
A decision is set to be made at a NPTC Licensing and Gambling Acts Sub Committee meeting on Monday February 7.
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