New village bistro planning to serve alcohol faces opposition over parking and noise

Owner James Aspell is planning to open Le Petit Vert, a French-style all-day café and bistro serving “tasty vegetarian and plant-based brunch, pastries and cakes”, on Main Street, Farnsfield, in September.

He has applied to Newark & Sherwood Council for permission to sell alcohol at the venue daily from 9am-11pm, with a decision on the plans due at a council licensing hearing on Thursday, June 8.

However, three residents, a business and Farnsfield Parish Council have raised concerns over “excessive noise” and parking issues.

Mr Aspell said he will soundproof the building and put up signs asking people to leave quietly, while the venue’s actual opening hours will be Wednesdays and Thursdays, 9am-10pm, Fridays and Saturdays, 9am-11pm, and Sundays, 10am-4pm, adding he applied for seven days a week in case an occasion such as Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve fell on a Monday or Tuesday.

The applicant also asked for the premises to be able to open for one extra hour on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays of Bank Holiday weekends and until 1am on New Year’s Day morning.

The venue hopes to offer pop-up food nights and cheese and wine evenings, as well as baby and toddler mornings.

However, one resident said the plans would cause “public nuisance” and serving alcohol until 11pm would “undoubtedly cause noise pollution”.

Commenting to the council as part of its consultation on the plans, they said: “Once fuelled with alcohol, they do not realise how loud they talk and laugh. In a quiet environment, which this generally is, the sound can multiply.

“It is unfair residents should have to put up with this and the subsequent noise it will create. There are already eight licensing premises in Farnsfield and no need for another.”

They raised concern at the venue’s lack of car park, because Farnsfield already has “constant problems with parking”.

The parish council said: “As the premises is surrounded by residential properties, the council is concerned music and social noise will cause the neighbours distress, and the comfort within their own property will be diminished.

“This will be exacerbated in the evenings where patrons could be intoxicated, smoking outside, and exiting the property at a time when the village is naturally quiet.”

However, the applicant said: “The style of venue we intend to operate will only warrant low-level background music and would certainly not be audible from the venue. We do not intend to have live music, DJs and the like.”

On parking, the applicant said that from his own experience, he has not struggled to park at the venue over the last year of visiting the premises.

He said: “We will encourage staff to travel by foot, bike or public transport and if they must drive, to park away from Main Street.

“We will encourage customers to travel by foot, bike or public transport through our social media channels. We will implement a reward scheme by which customers will earn a stamp if they travel by one of these means and once they obtain a certain level of stamps they will earn a free coffee or cake.”