Two people have complained to the council
Two people have complained to the council
A Merseyside pub is still pushing for its bid to stay open to 2.30am on some days of the week. The Johnny Pye on Pye Road in Heswall, which has been open for nearly 30 years in the Wirral town, is hoping for permission to stay open into the early hours of the morning.
Marston’s PLC, who are behind the pub, have applied to Wirral Council to vary the pub’s licence. However the new application has come before councillors because of complaints from two people in the area of noise nuisance and “disturbances from customers leaving the premises.”
The application was due to be considered on December 2 but the matter was postponed. It will now be considered at a licensing act sub-committee on January 16.
When the ECHO previously reported on the application, one person on a local Facebook page said that “as long as there are customers to spend their money why shouldn’t we encourage it before Heswall becomes another ghost town”. However others argued Heswall was “a village not a city centre” and the pub “doesn’t need to stay open [till] early hours of the morning”.
The pub currently has a license to sell alcohol from 10am until midnight. This is largely unchanged in the new application.
However, the pub company is hoping to extend the opening hours until 2.30am on Fridays and Saturdays with permission to sell alcohol until 2am on these days. This extension will also apply on New Year’s Eve.
No representations have been made against the application by Merseyside Police. However, following discussions, police have recommended a number of conditions be attached to the licence.
Two objections have also been received from members of the public. According to a council report, their complaints “relate to noise nuisance coming from the premises from entertainment and disturbances from customers leaving the premises, which is currently a problem.”
The report added: “There are concerns that if this application is granted, these issues may increase to a late hour.”
The pub’s namesake comes from a key historical figure in the town. According to the Heswall and District magazine in 2021, “Johnny Pye was the man who gave Heswall its first bus service and cinema.
“The Johnny Pye pub was built in 1996 on the site of the original bus depot and named in his honour.”
Mr Pye was born in Liverpool but later moved to Heswall in the early years of the 20th century. He ran a motor taxi service and later a coach service from Heswall to Birkenhead.
The magazine said: “The Johnny Pye Pub has framed mementos of Johnny Pye from his time in Heswall.”
The article went on to added: “If you walk by the side of the King’s building today along Moor Lane, on the side of the Halifax Bank, you can still see the bricked-up door that was once the entrance to the King’s cinema.
“The right-of-way, which used to cross his land, separating the bus station from the depot, has been named Pye Road in his memory.”
Marstons have previously been approached for comment over the two objections.
