St Stephen's Church in Ipswich gets late-night licence

St Stephen's Church will now be able to remain open and serve late-night refreshments and alcohol

The leaseholder at a deconsecrated medieval church has been granted a new premises licence for events and gigs.

St Stephen's Church in Arras Square, Ipswich, can now remain open and serve alcohol as late as 02:00 on some days.

The church was one of five venues around the town that hosted the music festival Brighten the Corners in June.

The building leaseholder Sounds East CIC said: "This is absolutely amazing news as we move forward with establishing the church as a cafe-bar."

A spokesperson added: "The granting of the premises licence opens up more opportunities for gigs, events and third-party hires in the space and is a big step forward in adding to the nightlife scene in the town."

The former church was used as a tourist information centre until 2020

The licence was granted by Ipswich Borough Council earlier this month.

Neil MacDonald, Labour leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said: "The transformation of St Stephen's Church has been a fantastic boost to the town centre since reopening earlier this year.

"The approval of the premises licence is a welcome addition to Sounds East CIC who've successfully grown the venue into an iconic space, bringing local music talent to the Ipswich community as well as non-musical events which can also make use of the building."