A Plymouth venue could soon serve alcohol until 3am every night after applying to extend its premises licence — but nearby residents have already raised concerns over noise and disruption.
Cosmic Kitchen, on Palace Street, has submitted an application to Plymouth City Council to vary its premises licence under the Licensing Act 2003. The application will be considered by the council’s licensing sub committee on Monday, May 18.
The venue is currently licensed to sell alcohol and provide late-night refreshment until midnight from Sunday to Thursday and until 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
Under the proposed changes, Cosmic Kitchen wants permission for recorded music, late-night refreshment and alcohol sales until 3am seven days a week. The application also seeks a 24-hour licence period from New Year’s Eve through to New Year’s Day.
A report prepared for councillors said the venue had already trialled a number of Temporary Event Notices “over the past month without any incidents reported to the relevant authorities”.
The application falls within an area covered by Plymouth’s cumulative impact policy, which creates a presumption against new licences or licence variations where they could add to existing problems linked to licensed premises.
However, Devon and Cornwall Police, Environmental Health, Trading Standards and other responsible authorities did not submit objections to the application. Police agreed additional conditions with the applicant, including requirements for door supervisors after midnight.
The agreed conditions state that where the premises remains open after midnight, door supervisors must be employed from at least 10pm. The ratio would be a minimum of one door supervisor for the first 100 customers and one additional supervisor for every 100 customers after that.
In its operating schedule, Cosmic Kitchen said it would “always ensure there are sufficient competent staff on duty” and said security staff would be used during late-night events. The venue also highlighted its CCTV coverage and membership of Pubwatch.
One resident objection was submitted to the council.
In the letter, the resident claimed music from the venue had sometimes continued after 1am on Saturday and Sunday mornings and alleged previous complaints had been made about noise levels. The objection also raised concerns about customers leaving the premises in the early hours and potentially disturbing nearby residents, including families with children living in surrounding flats.
Councillors will decide whether to approve the application, modify the requested conditions or reject the variation entirely.
