A brewery and taproom has been granted extended opening hours despite opposition from four neighbours and the council’s planning team.
But Phantom Brewing, based on Meadow Road, must first get planning permission to open later.
Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) Licensing Applications sub-committee approved the plans today (Thursday, September 3), which will allow the brewery and taproom to open as late as midnight on weekends if planning permission is granted.
Phantom Brewing currently has permission to open and sell alcohol from 5pm-8pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 3pm-10pm on Fridays and 1pm-10pm on Saturdays, with opening times half an hour later.
The brewery and taproom wants to change this to the following times:
Wednesday-Thursday: 5pm-10pm
Friday: 3pm-midnight
Saturday: 1pm-midnight
Sunday: 1pm-8pm
After getting the backing of the licensing committee, it will now need planning permission to do so.
Planning officers had raised concerns about the impact on those living at existing homes ain the area, as well as future occupiers of the 96 homes currently being built at the former Cox & Wyman site, directly opposite Phantom Brewing.
The brewery currently only has a certificate of lawfulness to use the site as a brewery with an ancillary taproom.
Tom Hughes, speaking at the meeting, said extending the hours from 22 to 35 is a change of use and therefore planning permission is needed.
He raised concerns about the impact on those living at existing homes in the area, as well as future occupiers of the 96 homes currently being built at the former Cox & Wyman site, directly opposite Phantom Brewing.
But Andrew Somerville, a planning consultant for the applicant, said the current use of the site as a brewery with an ancillary taproom is far quieter than other potential light industry uses.
He said even if the extended hours were a change of use, this is “irrelevant” to the four licensing objectives and assured councillors the taproom would remain ‘ancillary’ to the brewery, i.e. a supporting element rather than a primary function of the site.
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Dom Gemski, co-owner of Phantom Brewing, said the company had received no complaints from residents or the local authority since opening last year.
He said the extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays would be just for staff drinks and four of five special events a year.
The plans were opposed by four neighbours, all of whom specifically opposed the late opening on Fridays and Saturdays, but did not show up for the virtual meeting.
RBC’s licensing team agreed to five new conditions with Phantom Brewing ahead of the meeting, including keeping windows and doors closed after 8pm and getting planning permission for the extended hours.
The 12-barrel brewery launched in November 2019 and, following an enforced closure during lockdown, re-opened on July 11, with limited hours of Saturday: 2pm-5pm and 6pm-9pm.
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