Cornish beach café won’t cause crime and public nuisance

In fact, writes Local Democracy Reporter Lee Trewhela, the owner of the Red Rocket takeaway hut says it has improved the area.

A Cornwall Council licensing committee meeting heard today (Wednesday, October 9) that Fowey resident Deborah Walker had applied for a premises licence so she can sell alcohol alongside food until 10pm each day.

However, two other residents of the town had written to the council with concerns, citing possible vandalism, antisocial behaviour and even parents not supervising their children properly while under the influence of alcohol.

The Red Rocket café and takeaway in Fowey overlooks Whitehouse beach (Image: Cornwall Council/Lee Trewhela)

Ewen Macgregor, solicitor for the applicant, told councillors that Deborah had brought the former public toilets back into life by investing a significant amount of her own money into redeveloping the premises near Whitehouse beach on the Esplanade in Fowey. If approved, alcohol would be served on the café’s balcony, which can seat a maximum of 30 people.

The meeting heard that Deborah was educated at Fowey Comprehensive, now Fowey River Academy, and has had a career in hospitality, including working at the Old Quay House, Food for Thought and the Marina Hotel in the town, as well as managing houses for wealthy and famous people both locally and further afield.

She’s taken on the lease of the building from the Fowey Harbour Commissioner, which also includes a neighbouring paddling pool that’s popular with local and visiting children. The Red Rocket opened in August for Fowey Regatta and Carnival Week and the trial run proved successful.

A resident wrote to the council objecting to the application. “I reside on the Esplanade and there has been antisocial behaviour intermittently in this area at night since we moved here 18 years ago. There may be an increased risk of crime and disorder if there is an escalation of the antisocial behaviour described under the public nuisance section.

“There is a risk that by supplying and encouraging the consumption of alcohol in this area increases the risk of adults entering the water intoxicated and coming to harm. Potentially there is a risk that glasses and bottles may get broken and washed into the paddling pool posing a hazard.

“The anti-social behaviour and noise we have experienced along Esplanade for many years has in many cases been caused by people taking alcohol onto Whitehouse Beach / Quay and consuming it there until the early hours of the morning. This has resulted in people banging on doors loudly during the night and running away, shouting, moving window boxes around, climbing scaffolding, etc. Therefore, my view is that by encouraging alcohol to be supplied and consumed in the Whitehouse Quay area this public nuisance may increase.”

She also suggested selling alcohol to parents may “very likely impact their level of parenting capacity and reduce their level of supervision” of children using the nearby paddling pool. Another resident also wrote to the council with concerns about possible public nuisance and noise.

Mr Macgregor said of the representations: “If any of the responsible authorities had concerns about crime, disorder, public nuisance, safety and the protection of children, I think it’s fair to say they would have engaged in this process, either in terms of hours of operation or conditions on the licence. The fact that they have not, we say is significant.”

The applicant supplied a number of letters from Fowey residents, supporting her business. Comments included “This place is classy and polished not a loud and crazy beach bar in Newquay … it’s the opposite of that” and “Whilst frequenting the café over the summer when the temporary licence was in force I never saw any untoward behaviour or what I would call ‘problematic’ drinking”.

Another resident wrote: “Having a business here, in my opinion, can only discourage underage drinking as it is no longer somewhere hidden away from the prying eyes of adults. It is now a bustling location where you run the chance of bumping into adults you know – the last place any underage drinkers would gravitate towards.”

The committee agreed to the licensing application, stating there was insufficient evidence to suggest it would result in any public nuisance or crime, and noted that the premises had operated under a number of temporary events licences without issues.