Burger van’s bid to serve alcohol in pub beer garden rejected by council

Charles Thurston - on behalf of Hurston Hospitality Limited - applied to Great Yarmouth Borough Council for a licence to serve alcohol from his Yankee Airstream, which would then be consumed in the front beer garden of the First and Last Pub in Ormesby. He also applied for a licence to play recorded music between 11am-11pm daily, and said that using the site for this kind of activity was exactly what the now-derelict pub was “originally built for”.

The application was discussed at a council meeting held virtually on Tuesday, August 25.

But after much debate between Mr Thurston, councillors and an objecting resident - the committee members decided granting the licence would not be in the interests of “public safety”.

The meeting chair, Paul Wells, said: “The application for the playing of recorded music is successful.

The duo wanted to serve alcohol from their burger van in the front beer garden of the First and Last Pub, Ormesby. Pic: Archant (Image: Archant)

“But the application for the sale of alcohol and supply of alcohol is refused.

“The committee notes the premises are located next to a main access route for vehicles, including buses.

“Residents have complained regarding obstruction in the area to driveways and the through road, with the latter being an essential point to take on board for the councillors.

“Alcohol will encourage further trade, and will make a difficult situation even more dangerous.

“Signage telling people to park in the designated car park will not adequately deal with this risk to public safety.”

Earlier in the meeting, resident Hubert Harbord had raised staunch opposition to the plans, arguing that obstructive parking by Airstream customers could “block access for emergency services” and that the smell from the caravan was “obnoxious”.

He said: “If I was to create a smell like that I’d be liable to prosecution, but is Mr Thurston? I don’t think so. It’s one rule for the tourist industry and one rule for locals.”But according to Mr Thurstson, the Yankee Airstream is a “family restaurant selling family food to families”.

He said: “All we want to do is add a glass of beer or wine to the food we already serve.

“We had a temporary event notice for a time and were serving alcohol. The people who came along only had one drink with their food. They weren’t large groups of football hooligans.

“The First and Last has been a pub serving food and drink for over 100 years. The activities we are proposing are no different to those the building was purposely built for. “We’re asking for an alcohol licence at a pub, that’s all.”