99 object to restaurant asking for alcohol licence

The unit in the centre of Headingley is currently vacant

A plan to serve alcohol from a new restaurant on a famous bar crawl's route has been met with public opposition.

Leeds City Council has received 99 objections to an application from Loungers UK for 22-24 Headingley Central, on Otley Road.

Ward councillors, West Yorkshire Police and the council also raised concerns over the new venue on the Otley Run, which includes 18 pubs from Headingley to the city centre.

The cafe and restaurant in the former Arndale Centre building would serve drinks until 23:00 GMT between Sunday and Thursday and up to midnight at weekends.

Fears have been raised that the licence would add to anti-social behaviour caused by groups of rowdy pub crawlers in fancy dress, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Otley Run has become an increasingly divisive issue in recent years, with critics claiming residents are being forced to live with persistent drunkenness, public urination and harassment.

Others have argued the crawl remains a traditional rite of passage for Leeds students and that most participate peacefully.

The famous pub crawl divides opinion

Plans to open Headingley Central similarly split opinion among locals the BBC spoke to last month, when the proposals were first revealed.

In his objection letter, Headingley Green Party councillor Tim Goodall said fights and drunk people wandering into the busy road were common.

He said: "Some residents have recently contacted me to say that they are planning to move away from the area because of the Otley Run and, in some cases, have already put their house up for sale."

The venue is in a Cumulative Impact Area (CIA), classed as suffering from high levels of problem drinking by the council.

Licence applicants in CIA areas are required to demonstrate their venue would not add to drink-related problems.

Labour councillors Jonathan Pryor and Abdul Hannan said the venue must be food-led and not serve drinkers in fancy dress.

They said: “We do not believe the applicant has demonstrated this is their application.”

The application will be considered at a licensing sub-committee hearing on 12 December.

Councillors will have the option of granted or refusing the licence, or allowing it with additional conditions.

A Loungers spokesperson told the BBC that "appropriate conditions relating to the Otley Run" would be discussed with the council in relation to the unit, a former Wilko store, but declined to confirm whether the brand planned to operate as an official stop on the route.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.