OBJECTIONS have been raised at the prospect of a premises licence being granted for a coffee shop in a Chester hamlet.

The application has been made by B L and E M Ryder at the Manor Farm Shop and Old Ma's Coffee Shop on Newton Lane in Gatesheath near Tattenhall.

Chester City Council has been told the coffee shop and a first floor function room would open from 9am to 11pm Monday to Thursday, 9am to midnight on Friday and Saturday and 9am to 10pm on Sunday with an additional hour around bank holiday weekends and Christmas and special hours on New Year's Eve.

The same hours would apply to the supply of alcohol for consumption on and off the premises and for live and recorded music and dancing.

The business says that at present the family run coffee shop offers fresh meals and home baked products alongside a farm shop selling fresh meat and vegetables.

Facilities would include films and a dance floor and entertainment could include bands and duos and discos for private parties.

Barbecues could take place outside in the summer.

No alcohol would be sold to anyone under 18 or to any person who had already consumed too much.

Disruptive individuals would be refused alcohol and removed from the premises and steps would be taken to ensure people leave on time and in safety.

Windows and the door would be closed when music was being played and the sound outside the premises would be checked.

Children must be accompanied by an adult and would not be supplied with alcohol.

They must leave with a grown-up who has not consumed alcohol.

Licensing officers have had seven objections and one letter in support.

At Beech House on Newton Lane, Mr Philip Nuttall and Mrs Gabrielle Brewster object on the grounds of public safety and say the road is already “very busy” with traffic.

“We, and we suspect other local residents, purchased property in this quiet, rural area precisely because it is quiet and rural.

“We object to the possibility of the character of the immediate area being altered for the worse,” they say.

Diane Matthews at Newton House, Newton Lane has no problem with the sale of alcohol in the farm shop but would be concerned about late night music and drinking at the venue.

“I hate noise of any sort. I do not want to be disturbed by people leaving the premises,” she says.

At Gatesheath Grange, Chester Road, Mr M K Livermore suggests that any licence should be strictly curtailed and that any large functions taking place at the venue would be inappropriate in open countryside.

He proposes a number of conditions which, he says, take account of what he understands to be the main aim of the application which is to provide for alcohol being served with meals during opening hours and alcohol sales from the shop.

David and Rhiannon Walker of Gatesheath Hall say they appreciate that farmers need to diversify but believe a licence would be totally inappropriate in an open country area where sound travels many miles.

Supporting the application, Tattenhall resident Mrs Sue Cooper says she is a regular customer of the premises which are valued by the whole community.

People can always rely on there being top quality food from Lesley Ryder who is the official tea lady for Tattenhall Cricket Club 2nd team.

Her family have known the Ryder family for 40 years and she adds: “Manor Farm Shop is a family business run for families and would not be a place where any kind of alcohol-fuelled misbehaviour would be tolerated.”

The application for a premises licence is due to be considered at a meeting of the city council's Licensing Act sub committee taking place at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Chester on Tuesday (January 13) at 10.30am.