New Bucks pub wins fight to serve booze despite noise concerns

A new Bucks pub at a former Marks and Spencers Simply Food Store has had to fight its booze licence bid from objectors.

The owners of the Journeyman in Packhorse Road, Gerrards Cross, won its application to sell alcohol until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and until 11pm on the other days despite noise fears from nearby residents.

It also proposed to play recorded music and open a little bit longer on Bank Holidays, Christmas Eve, and Boxing Day.

The owners, Oakman Group, were granted planning permission to convert the former M&S food store, which had a licence to sell alcohol off the premises until 10pm and surrendered its licence in 2020, in March 2022.

But since the booze licence application, 25 objectors – most of who withdrew their comments – wrote in expressing noise fears when it originally proposed to serve alcohol until 5am.

One resident wrote: “To be serving alcohol in the morning is unnecessary and would promote daytime drunkenness and behavioural problems. I see no demand for service until 05:00 but the continued opening would create noise and light pollution.”

It also proposed to play live music – but this was withdrawn.

Speaking at a licensing sub-committee, the managing director of Oakmans, Alex Ford, denied the Journeyman will be a “boozer,” adding that it will be a food-led business as opposed to a bar-led one.

He said on Tuesday, April 25: “Our prices tend to put off a certain element of crowds that won’t dwell for a long time and cause issues.

“Although 60 per cent of the sales will be food, of the drinks sales, a large proportion of those sales will be with food.”

Any issues that arise from the Journeyman, Mr Ford said they will try and work with the community to quash those concerns as they “won’t have a sustainable trade”.

Despite the gesture, this still wasn’t enough to ease the concerns and fears of some nearby residents.

Eugene Walsh, who has lived adjacent to the site for over 22 years, didn’t object to the licence in principle but feels the hours should reflect Gerrards Cross town centre.

He said: “If a licence is allowed to sell alcohol until midnight, it’s fairly clear that it would have a significant detrimental impact on local residents’ rights for peaceful enjoyment of our properties.

“It will inevitably increase public nuisance and the risk of crime and disorder in the local area.”

But the applicant’s legal representative, Craig Baylis, said none of the other authorities, such as the police, have objected to the licence, believing it won’t increase public nuisance and crime and disorder.

Ultimately, councillors sitting on the sub-committee approved the Journeyman’s booze bid.