THE owners of a beachside restaurant have not taken neighbouring residents’ considerable concerns about noise seriously.

That was the view of a number of people who spoke out against a retrospective licensing application for an outside bar at the premises.

Tamara Costin and William Speed, the owners of Flushing’s Harbour House, bought the former Hooked On The Rocks restaurant at Swanpool, Falmouth, in October last year, changing the name to the Beach House. Ms Costin applied to amend the layout of the premises to reconfigure the internal area, add an awning to the main building to include bar servery with the addition of an external bar in the lower terrace, which was installed by the previous owners without licensing permissions.

The Beach House agreed to conditions that the external bar would close no later than 11pm, would be supervised at all times when in use and be inaccessible to customers when not in use to ensure they do not have access to any alcohol. There would be no changes to the hours for licensable activities.

However, 93 members of the public wrote to Cornwall Council objecting to the application, with the majority of them raising concerns about the noise from DJs and other recorded music coming from the outside terrace. One resident said he’d never known such a reaction from the community since the building of the controversial Liner building overlooking Gyllyngvase beach in the town.

The Beach House’s solicitor Ewen Macgregor told a meeting of Cornwall Council’s licensing committee on August 28 that his clients inherited the changes to the restaurant, which were made as early as 2018, with the outside bar installed in 2021. As soon as they realised they weren’t licensed, they applied for the changes to be made.

“At its heart, this is a straightforward application without complications but it has become confused by a circular which has worked its way through the local community. As a consequence of which, the application has drawn a number of objections,” he said.

“I have no issue with the local community supporting each other in opposing applications but it is unfortunate that the circular sent around the local community mischaracterises the application.” He said Ms Costin and Mr Speed have been running licensed premises for 17 years, none of which have been subject to any enforcement action.

Mr McGregor acknowledged there were events held earlier this year which were the subject of a number of complaints and brought to the attention of the council’s environmental health officer. He apologised on behalf of his client for any distress that may have been caused to the local community.

Following his representation, a number of people opposed to the application addressed the meeting. Swanpool resident Susan Anguah said: “There were 93 objections, mostly about noise but particularly about the nature of Swanpool beach. I think this would be an overbearing presence in the area.” When questioned, she said she wasn’t personally disturbed by the noise.

Miranda Flannigan, Cornwall Council environmental protection officer, said her department had received complaints about noise both while the current owners were in place and during the tenure of the previous owners. An objection to the current application was based on that.

Cllr Laurie Magowan, who represents the area at Cornwall Council and objected to the application, said: “Feedback from members of the community indicated that the premises and their management have not been sensitive or open to engaging in discussing concerns that have been raised.” He added that the playing of recorded music was a real cause for concern in terms of the impact on people on the beach during the day as well as local residents and their homes.

Martin Sanders, chair of Falmouth Bay Residents Association, told the meeting: “I haven’t seen a reaction like this from our local residents since the Liner building was erected. This is a very widely discussed issue. It’s raised an awful lot of strong feelings within our members, the like of which I’ve not seen for a long time.

“I feel the important thing here is the consequence for our residents – it’s the noise, it’s the disturbance. By allowing a licence until 11pm, this makes the beach and the bar a destination for people in the town to come out and get a late drink.”

He said the objections were first triggered by live DJ sessions, which have now stopped since the application was submitted. “Our concern is if the application is approved then these sessions will return and we will have to go back to complaining to either the owners or environmental officers again.”

Mr Sanders asked the committee to impose conditions that would restrict the amount of noise coming from the external bar. The meeting heard from the council’s legal representative – in agreement with the applicant’s solicitor – that a condition limiting the volume of music was not something the committee could impose at the hearing as it doesn’t fall within the application’s remit. A review could take place if complaints continue about noise.

Cllr Alan Jewell, chairman of Falmouth Town Council’s licensing committee, said: “To include an awning which will bring a new addition would bring public nuisance in terms of noise, which could be heard by people on the beach, a nearby public right of way, an outstanding beauty area adjacent to a site of special scientific interest (SSSI) and neighbouring areas as far away as Madeira Walk.”

His committee felt the 11pm cut-off in a quiet area would be unneighbourly, particularly when drinking up time is added. “They’re there to enjoy the fantastic view, the sea lapping against the shore, the birds flying off from the pool, why do they need music? It would be nice for the applicants to come to some resolution to turn the music down or knock it on the head.”

John Ferguson, representing a number of neighbouring residents who live at Madeira Walk, told the committee: “As local residents we very much want to support local businesses and we very much want to live in harmony with the Beach House. However, approving this licence would have an irreversibly detrimental impact on Swanpool.

“The key issue is public nuisance caused by noise from the premises should this application be approved. Worryingly there is no recognition from the applicant of the public nuisance caused by noise on the local area.”

He added: “The Beach House started playing amplified music from the lower terrace generally at the weekends from around April. As you can see from the 93 representations, this noise could be heard from all around Swanpool, impacting many people. It prevents us enjoying our garden and even when we retreat inside our house with all windows closed the noise could still be heard well into the night.”

Mr Ferguson said concerns were raised with the Beach House but dismissed. “Looking at the other representations, it appears we were not the only ones. Instead of listening to the community’s concerns, they recently installed eight speakers on the terrace and have continued to play music into the night.”

Mr Mcgregor said his clients had heard Mr Ferguson’s comments and would take the appropriate steps to ensure the volume is turned down. “Each of the individuals have spoken about music on the terrace. That has no part to play in this application,” he stressed.

He disputed comments that not enough information was provided with the application, stating that all the necessary details concerning the reconfiguration of the restaurant and external bar were included.

Mr Mcgregor said he was happy to offer additional conditions on behalf of the Beach House – a telephone number provided for the premises to concerned residents, a complaints register will be kept and his clients were happy to meet with local residents to discuss their wider issues.

After deliberating, the committee granted the application with the inclusion of the additional conditions suggested by the applicant. Members were aware that concerns about noise were not applicable to the application, but a review of the licence could take place in the future. The applicants were reminded to keep a public footpath, which runs through the site, open and unobstructed at all times.