A CHARD pub will be able to stay open until 5am on carnival night – but not for a post-birthday party event the following week.

The Phoenix Hotel, located on Fore Street, currently stays open until 3am on Saturday nights.

Owner Stephen Jones and manager Mark Pearce had applied to extend the opening hours for October 13/14, to provide refreshment to people attending the town’s annual carnival.

A meeting of South Somerset District Council’s licensing sub-committee was convened in Yeovil on Tuesday afternoon (October 2) after Avon and Somerset Constabulary raised concerns about the proposals.

But the two men were able to reassure councillors, who have agreed the extended hours can go ahead with certain conditions attached.

Messrs Jones and Pearce had applied to alter the pub’s opening hours through a temporary event notice, which gives permission for special, one-off or unusual events which would not be covered by an existing premises licence.

In light of the police’s objection, the council could issue a counter-notice to stop the event going ahead, or could ask for certain conditions to be imposed on the notice to ensure public safety and prevent crime and disorder.

Nicola King, the police’s licensing officer, said there would be sufficient police on the streets in Chard to deal with any disruption caused by carnival-goers.

She said: “We are asking for CCTV to continue recording between 3am and 5am, and that the door staff are retained.

“This is just a way of making it more enforceable that the conditions are imposed upon the license.”

Mr Jones responded: “For carnival night, every stipulation of our licence will be followed through. We will abide by everything on our licence already.”

Mr Pearce added that he had applied for similar extensions of hours in the past and had received no complaints.

After more than 20 minutes of deliberation, the panel agreed to allow the extension of the pub’s hours for the night of the carnival.

A separate application for the following weekend – to allow the pub to stay open until 5am for a birthday party – was refused.

Mr Jones explained that the pub would remain open to accept revellers from a birthday event at Cricket St Thomas Golf Club, who would be bussed into the town centre from midnight onwards.

He said: “It was more about the number of people we’d be putting out on the street at once than about making money. As much as alcohol is linked to violence, the amount of people out at once is linked to that too.”

PC Paul Thomas, from the Chard beat team, said that drunk and disorderly behaviour was “a common thing now” between 3am and 5am, citing half a dozen incidents in the last few months.

He added: “That is something that we have to manage, at a time when our resources are rather depleted – and doesn’t include the other calls we have coming in.”

The panel voted to refuse the birthday party application, with Councillor David Recardo stating: “We were not satisfied that the notice-giver can demonstrate that it could promote the licensing objectives.”

Messrs Jones and Pearce said they would not appeal the decision.