A councillor says he is opposed to pub giant Wetherspoon wanting to use part of the pavement outside their Wisbech pub for drinkers and diners. Fenland District Council is consulting on an application by Wetherspoon to use the pavement along Church Terrace, Wisbech, to the right of the pub’s entrance doors.
Wetherspoon hopes to be able to use the pavement from 8am to 11pm daily “for the purpose of consuming food or drink supplied from, or in connection with relevant use of, the premises”.
But Cllr Dave Patrick is opposed to the proposal – and says other town and district councillors appear to agree with him.
“In this instance I feel it would not be appropriate given its location,” he said.
“Effectively it would cause an obstruction to pedestrians using the pavement to travel from town towards Norfolk Street. I therefore feel in this instance I cannot support the application.”
He added: “It should be noted that the Wheatsheaf has a good sized area at the rear of the premises where people can already comfortably site outside and enjoy a beverage.”
Cllr Patrick said he was “angered and appalled” that a fellow Wisbech councillor had accused him of having a vested interest telling him ‘as a person who runs a bar Cllr Patrick, I am not sure you ought to be commenting. Bit of a conflict of interest in stopping the competition”.
He said the councillor who had criticised him – Cllr Samantha Hoy – had been supportive of Wetherspoon proposals.
“She told me she supported the application since other bars in town, she claimed, have been allowed and according to her it isn’t fair to exclude Wetherspoon,” she said.
“The reality is I run a bar on occasions for weddings and events and specifically for people who have booked Walsoken village hall,” he said. “It adds up to about 18 bars a year.
“The type of bar I run occasionally is hardly in competition with Wetherspoon so why she made such a crass comment to me is hard to explain.”
Cllr Patrick said he had invited Cllr Hoy to explain where she feels the conflict is or withdraw or her comment.
He said he was pleased to see other councillors also refusing to support the application “using their common sense in their reasoning rather than trying to be petty.”
A consultation from Fenland District Council is opened until 10 September 2024.
Wetherspoon say they plan to use 4 mill top flip tables 0.7m x 0.7m 8 tempered resin galaxy chairs 0.4m x 0.4m 2 small endurance planters.
In Whittlesey, the pub chain wants permission to use 16 Endurance timber picnic benches, a freestanding post and canvas banner barriers on an area outside the George onto Market Place.
Read up on both applications here:
https://www.fenland.gov.uk/licensingconsultations
