Complaints about Cafe Cafe mean extended hours bid is curbed

A BAR-cum-restaurant on the Hill can stay open longer at the weekends - despite complaints about noise and disturbance from residents, and Harrow School.
The owners of Cafe Cafe in High Street had asked to operate until 1.30am seven days a week but Harrow Council's licensing panel decided on Monday (02/11) that the business should only be allowed an extra hour of trading on Friday and Saturday until 1am, with last orders 30 minutes beforehand.
Objector Patricia Bawcombe, of High Street, who said she twice called police over incidents at the venue, described the panel's decision as "not a bad outcome".
David Massey, of Coniston Court, told councillors in a letter: "Granting a late night licence will only encourage many more drinkers."
Trevor Gray, estates bursar of Harrow School, had had concerns about the pupils who live in a boarding house 20m away from Cafe Cafe, calling the proposal "unacceptable" due to the noise pollution, while resident Robert Williams, of Coniston Court, said: "The borough should not allow it to deteriorate into a late night drinking area."
Inigo Woolf, company secretary of Coniston Court (Residents) Ltd, said: "Cafe Cafe would appear to run their business responsibly but the problem occurs with the behaviour of individuals after they leave the premises.
"Often they can be hard singing in the street or calling people on their mobile phones and as there is little traffic from midnight onwards, the nature of the street layout tends to funnel any noise upwards such that we can hear individual conversations."
A South Harrow police spokesman wrote to the committee: "I believe this late hour will have a detrimental effect on local residents."