A new Wirral restaurant aimed at families is expected to open at the end of the summer.
Current plans are for the Cow Shed to open in August or September 2023. It will replace the former dry cleaners on Broadway in Bebington though owners Katrina Sandland and Sam Jones said there was still a lot of work to be done. Bebington was named the best town to live in England in 2017.
At a meeting on June 21, Wirral Council agreed to give the new restaurant a licence to sell alcohol despite objections from neighbours over potential antisocial behaviour, parking problems, and noise issues.
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The new restaurant will be able to sell alcohol until 10.30pm in the evening and stay open until 11pm. Other conditions of the licence included having CCTV, deliveries taking place at the rear of the business, people waiting inside for taxis, and regular meetings with neighbours.
Mr Jones said they would be doing totally different food from other businesses in the area with menu items like street food and burgers. Drinks would include craft beers and wines while music would only be background.
Ms Sandland, who previously owned Freddie's Bar and Grill in New Ferry, said the new restaurant would be aimed at families and they’d had a lot of support from people in the community. Dozens of comments on a Facebook page for the new business were overwhelmingly positive.
She added: ”We are family people ourselves. We do not want to have any noises in the night so we will be very strict on that with the people in the premises. We will be strict on that, we will.”
However the plans were opposed by some neighbours who said parking in a nearby car park was not safe and the number of customers, an expected 80 covers, would cause issues.
Brian Jordan, who lives nearby, said: “If you are going to have all those extra vehicles it is going to cause major problems,” adding: “People will not have thought for the residents.”
Others said they would look at putting their houses on the market when the restaurant opens. Derek Nowell said: “It is a good community. Everybody knows everybody, everybody looks out for each other,” adding: “I will be moving myself, it will break up the community.”
Despite complaints about antisocial behaviour and claims of drug taking in the area, neighbours said they had no evidence to support the claims and police did not object to the application.
Addressing the complaints, the Cow Shed said they’d promote the 50 vehicle car park nearby for new customers to use, provide cycle parking, and install acoustics to limit the noise going into the flats above. Signs telling people to be quiet when leaving at the end of the night were also promised.
Councillors on the licensing committee said they had to base their decision on evidence in approving the application, though the licence could be reviewed at a later date.
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