A landlord in Keele has been granted permission to use an old stable block at the side of her pub after it transpired the barn requires its own separate licence.

Kirsty Fradley and James Elliot took over the Sneyd Arms just over a year ago, and gave the venue a refresh.

In July, they opened up the former stables – which had been derelict for 35 years – following a £20,000 makeover.

Formerly known as The Tack Room, the additional space is now called The Knights Templar and the new owners had planned to make the space available for events as well as live performances on Fridays and Saturdays.

However, a complaint about noise in December revealed it didn't have the necessary licence in place and Ms Fradley was asked to close it down until she had permission to use it.

Officers at Newcastle Borough Council said in a report: "The reason that a new premises licence application has been made is that the barn area to the side of the premises area, known as the Knights Templar, has recently been converted for use as a bar and events area.

"Whilst shown on the historic plan, it was not clearly included in the licensable area and now has a separate bar area of its own."

They added: "The requirement for a new premises came to light following a noise complaint on the 15th December 2022 in relation to an event at The Knights Templar bar on the weekend previous.

"The premises owners were under the impression that the newly converted area was covered under the current licence, however upon discussion with the licensing administration team it was found that the area was not covered as a unit to sell alcohol under the original plan."

Landlady, Kirsty Fradley, took over the pub just over a year ago (Google).

Concerns were raised by neighbour Tim Millington, who stated in a written submission: "The application has arisen from previous unlicensed use of the 'Nights Templar' bar to hold loud music events "discos" on weekend evenings in 2022.

"My home shares a party wall with the premises, so music and vibration transits easily into my home. I complained to the Licensee at the time of these events and he insisted he had a License.

"As it has transpired, this seems to have be a mistaken belief and, consequently, this application to allow continued use of the venue has been submitted.

"Given that the application has arisen from previous nuisance and health issues, I would ask the committee to only grant a license with conditions that would prevent the nuisance caused by loud music being played at the venue."

Council staff told Ms Fradley she would need to stop any licensable activities – which includes live music and serving alcohol – within the Knights Templar building until a new licence is granted.

Ms Fradley's solicitor told Newcastle Borough Council's licensing committee seven events had taken place using temporary licences across eight days from January 2023 up until mid-March and there had been no complaints about any of these.

He said the venue was being booked by Keele University student societies as well as people arranging afternoon teas as well as things like birthday parties and weddings.

The committee agreed to grant the licence, on the condition that the Knights Templar only has music up until 11pm and that the owners must include a noise plan in their operating procedures.

The licence conditions also state a store room door must be kept shut to prevent noise carrying into neighbouring buildings, and that members of the public must not be permitted to enter the store room at any time.

Councillors also asked that Ms Fradley and Mr Millington work with one other to agree a solution – but if that can't be achieved then the issue could be brought back to a committee to discuss again at a later date.

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