A bid by a café to sell alcohol in Charlestown has come under fire from residents and local politicians.

Ten Ten Coffee on Charlestown Road, near St Austell, has applied to Cornwall Council to sell alcohol on the premises.

However, St Austell Bay Parish Council, the area’s Cornwall Council member and a neighbour have all written to the council objecting, meaning the matter will come before a licensing sub-committee on Wednesday, May 6.

The small coffee shop has 15 seats inside and a decking area outside with an additional six to eight seats. Opponents to the licence request say the business is in a residential area and they fear noise and public nuisance.

However, the applicant, Megan Clark, has stressed there is no intention to run the café as a bar.

She states that alcohol will be sold as an ancillary offer to the main café use and not as an alcohol-led premises. “The management team will operate the premises in a responsible manner … in a way that prevents noise and disturbance to neighbouring properties, with customers asked to leave quietly in the evenings.

“Staff will be trained in responsible alcohol retailing, including the refusal of service to intoxicated persons and the operation of a Challenge 25 policy. Also, a incident/refusals log will be kept,” says a report to the licensing committee.

The application has received no objections from relevant authorities such as the police, the fire and rescue authority or public health.

However, St Austell Bay Parish Council has objected. It says: “This is a residential part of Charlestown and separate to the main eateries and bars further down into Charlestown.

“Local residents and the parish council are concerned that having another potential bar opening potentially until 10pm will create noise and possible public nuisance.

“There is also outside seating where larger groups could congregate outside drinking in the summer and the noise levels could increase. The coffee shop is surrounded by homeowners of mixed ages.

“There has been concerns from residents who are in close proximity to the coffee shop … regarding noise and public disorder.”

Cllr James Mustoe, who represents St Austell Bay at Cornwall Council, agreed: “There is a history of licensing issues in Charlestown in the past, which when viewed cumulatively, have had a very negative impact on this community.

“It is essential that any new licensing applications in the area are considered with this in mind and that nothing is left to chance in terms of conditions applied for.

“I support the parish council’s comments in terms of the potential for this application to cause a public nuisance in a primarily residential area, close to a park, and as such would not want to see this application proceed as currently set out.”

Richard Hallows, who lives on Charlestown Road, added: “This premises is within a residential area, directly within a terrace of residential properties, with further residential properties opposite.

“This introduction of a bar significantly increases the potential for noise and congregation nuisance. This gives a substantial risk of nuisance to the public and neighbouring residents.”

Following their representations, the applicant amended a request to serve alcohol until 10pm to 7.30pm on Monday to Saturday and removed off-sales from the application.

Megan Clark, from Ten Ten Coffee, told the council: “I’m very keen to maintain a positive relationship with local residents and to be open about my future plans for the coffee shop.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it is not our intention to run the coffee shop as a ‘bar’. We simply wish to run a monthly wine and cheese evening and offer the occasional festive alcoholic hot chocolate during the winter season.”

Despite her changes to the application, the parish council, Cllr Mustoe and Mr Hallows are still opposed.

Rachel Trudgeon, St Austell Bay Parish Council clerk, said councillors’ views remain unchanged. “They feel that the location of Ten Ten Ltd is primarily within a residential area of the village, the application seeks to introduce a different type of business, hours and the potential for public nuisance. The additional outdoor seating could develop into a noisy drinking venue in the summer.

“Ten Ten Ltd only has one public convenience, which is also outside of the premises, and it is felt this would be inadequate for an establishment selling alcohol, this could create queues of people outside which in turn increases the noise.”