Wine bar’s plan for longer outdoor seating hours sparks objections

Kieran Molloy, Local Democracy Reporter

A popular wine venue is seeking permission to extend the hours of its outdoor terrace, but neighbours have expressed concerns about noise.

Uisce, an oyster and wine bar in Pontcanna, Cardiff, has made a proposal to the council to allow their customers to sit in the outdoor seating area for longer.

At the moment, the oyster bar can only let customers sit outside between 9am and 9pm due to a planning condition put in place when the outside seating area was approved.

The venue, neighbours restaurant Heaneys, has asked to extend these hours to 9am to 10pm from Sunday to Thursday, 9am to 11pm on Friday and Saturday, and 9am to 11pm on Sundays before a bank holiday.

However, some residents on Romilly Crescent aren’t happy with the wine bar’s plan, with multiple people having written to the council expressing their concerns about the noise the extended hours could bring.

One comment attached to the planning application reads: “The outdoor seating area can become particularly busy during weekends and Bank Holidays.

“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.”

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.”

Planning documents read: “This application seeks to bridge the gap between the existing planning restriction and the permitted operational house (which permits operation until 00:30) 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.

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 set out a mitigation strategy for the noise, including no music after 9pm on any day, a “highly visible ‘Respect Our Neighbours”’ sign on the terrace, active supervision and right of refusal from staff members.

They also proposed a ban on outdoor smoking and vaping to “discourage loitering, thereby minimising late-night noise disturbance”.

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