A Leeds cricket club has been granted permission to sell alcohol until 1.30am on weekends, despite nine objections from its neighbours. A city council panel agreed that Leeds' Caribbean Cricket Club could sell booze later than its previous cut-off of midnight on a Saturday and 11pm on a Friday, following a licensing hearing on Tuesday.
The Scott Hall Road club said the extension was vital to help bring in revenue from events and gatherings and to keep funding its community activities. Objectors had claimed they were fed up with noise and disturbances from the venue, although none attended the hearing to speak against the application.
Club secretary Reginald Hamilton told a panel of three councillors that though residents had a “right to complain”, the club had not held a late-night event since June last year. He said the venue and its members could not be the source of recent complaints.
He told the hearing: “We are not funded by any other organisation. Whatever we’re doing, we’re doing it to enhance the community and to generate funds so that our junior teams can play cricket and so we can play cricket.
“We attract other clubs to come and play against us from Birmingham, Leicester, Northampton and London. That in itself raises the profile of Leeds, encourages people to come and spend their money and enjoy all the city has to offer.
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Mr Hamilton described the club, which was founded in 1948, as an “asset to the local community”. The hearing was told the majority of its members are teetotal and therefore it was more reliant on one-off events for cash than other clubs, where members regularly drink in the clubhouse.
Mr Hamilton said the club would continue to engage with its neighbours and would “letter drop” them ahead of any upcoming late-night events. A committee of three councillors unanimously agreed to grant the application.
Under the terms of the new licence, the club will also be allowed to sell alcohol until 11.30pm between Sunday and Thursday, a half hour extension on what had previously been permitted on those days.
