A BRUNCH and cocktail restaurant in Christchurch High Street has submitted a new application for extended opening hours.
MAW, which currently closes mid-afternoon, has applied to stay open until between 5pm and 10pm from Thursday to Saturday.
The proposal would allow the business to offer a private hire service in the evenings.
It is the second application MAW has submitted for longer hours, with the first being refused in October last year following an intervention from the police.
The owner had applied to keep it open until 9.30pm between Sunday and Thursday, and 10pm on Friday and Saturday.
It is understood Dorset Police had issued advice for BCP Council to reject the proposal, following concerns it would ‘upset the balance’ in the area.
According to a document submitted as part of MAW’s latest application, the refusal caused “caused significant distress” for the business and has prevented them from “using the premises in a way which is entirely consistent with its town centre location”.
It then sites a number of premises located near to Maw which are allowed to open late, such as the Ship, Arcado Lounge, the Thomas Tripp and Soho. It reads: “These premises are all located less than 200m from MAW and many have similar relationships with existing residential neighbours, which are common across the town centre given that this is a mixed use area.
“It is therefore evident that a 10pm close from Thursday-Saturday is entirely in character with the surrounding area as it is consistent with other similar premises.”
It also added that MAW launched a petition in response to the refusal, which was signed by “330 local people” who wanted the extended opening hours.
A number of historic applications have been submitted for the site prior to MAW occupying it, which also sought changes to the opening hours.
An application submitted by Baggies Coffee House in 2019 looked to increase the opening hours to 2am seven days a week, including the sale of alcohol, but this was not granted.
A decision has not yet been made on the application for MAW.
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