A wine bar owned by one of Wales' best known chefs is in a battle with neighbours over plans to extend its opening hours.
Oyster and wine bar Uisce, which neighbours its sister establishment Heaney's at Romilly Crescent in Pontcanna, had submitted plans to Cardiff council to use its outdoor seating area late into the evening so customers can make better use of the popular spot which is often particularly busy on a warm evening.
Currently the bar owned by Tommy Heaney can only let customers sit outside on the terrace beside the road between 9am and 9pm due to a planning condition put in place when the outside seating area was approved.
Proposed extended hours
Mr Heaney has now applied for the hours to be extended to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday and 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays. He also wants to be allowed to open until 11pm on Sundays before a bank holiday Monday.
But the plans have been met by objections by some neighbours at Romilly Crescent, and some have written to the council claiming extended hours will bring noise issues. Some said the area is already noisy, in part due to Uisce.
"The outdoor seating area can become particularly busy during weekends and bank holidays," one neighbour said. "When a large number of people are seated close together it is natural for customers to raise their voices in order to communicate with one another over the surrounding conversations. However, because of the proximity of the seating area to residential properties, this creates a considerable level of noise which can be clearly heard from my home."
Neighbour objections
Another said: "My husband and I have lived at Romilly Crescent for 26 years and living opposite a large restaurant has never a problem, until Uisce. This is a residential area where the residents have the right to enjoy their homes and gardens without noise from a rowdy bar affecting our quality of life and our mental health."
The planning document reads: "This application seeks to bridge the gap between the existing planning restriction and the permitted operational house (which permits operation until 12.30am) by extending the outdoor seating hours in a measured and responsible manner."
According to the bar, extending the permitted outdoor hours "aligns directly with the established use of outdoor areas by other licensed premises in the area". They said that a "clear precedent" is The Robin Hood pub, located only 80m away from the wine bar, which "successfully" operates its outdoor areas into the evening.
Mitigation measures
It continues: "Permitting Uisce to extend its terrace hours will ensure a fair and consistent approach to the night time economy, aligning the premises with established local precedents without introducing an uncharacteristic level of activity to the neighbourhood."
In their application, the wine bar sets out a mitigation strategy for the noise, including no music after 9pm on any day, a "highly visible" reading "respect our neighbours" positioned on the terrace, active supervision and right of refusal from staff members, and a ban on outdoor smoking and vaping to "discourage loitering, thereby minimising late-night noise disturbance".
