The parish council has received the following correspondence and it has been requested that we share with residents. This includes an invitation to attend a meeting at the Blunsdon Arms on Wednesday 29th June at 6pm. The parish council will be speaking against this application and hopes that residents will be able to support by also attending.

If you have any queries please contact the parish council Chairman, Cllr Vera Tomlinson on 01793 703751

Dear Resident

I act on behalf of the operator of Blunsdon Arms, Mitchells & Butlers Leisure Retail Limited, and have reviewed your representation to my client’s variation of premises licence application.

Mitchells & Butlers are committed to working in partnership with the local community and having had regard to your concerns we have been instructed to withdraw the current variation application.

Instead, my client will be seeking to re-submit the variation application with the only changes sought being to allow trading from 9am (currently permitted from 10am) for sale of alcohol each day and on Christmas Eve, and the addition of the external bar, which we will offer a condition in the application not to operate after 10pm.

We will no longer be proposing any extension to terminal hours for licensable activities as part of the re-submitted variation application.

With regards to the slightly earlier start time sought for sale of alcohol start from 9am, the premises is already permitted to open to unrestricted hours on its licence and my client is confident the earlier hour trading from 9am will not have any negative impact on the area or local residents and this is simply to supplement the existing brunch offer. My client has vast experience of operating many licensed premises from a 9am start time for licensable activities, including premises near residents, and has done so without any issues of note and whilst continuing to promote the licensing objectives.

As to the proposed external bar, this will be limited to operating no later than 10pm and is sought purely to aid customer flow and provide the dispense of drinks to guests within the garden area of the premises. This will also assist with reducing demand on the internal bar and will predominately be deployed for peak trading times as opposed to everyday use. As you may be aware, the external garden area is already permitted to be used by guests until closing, including for consumption of alcohol and therefore the addition of the external bar within this area is unlikely to create additional noise or nuisance. In fact, in my client’s experience, adding an external bar generates an added benefit of increased monitoring and supervision of the garden area from permanent staffing of the bar when in use.

I hope the above information alleviates any concerns you may have. However, if you do have concerns or queries about the proposed 9 am start and/or external bar, then my client would welcome an opportunity to answer any questions you may have or to discuss your concerns. My client’s Area Manager (responsible for this premises) Nigel Sim-Lamb, together with the General Manager of the premises, Stephen Williams, , wish to invite you to a meeting with other residents on Wednesday 29 June at 6pm at the premises.