A planned new cafe for St Ives has been granted a licence to serve alcohol despite concerns that some steps accessing the venue could be unsafe.

Cornwall Council’s licensing act sub-committee approved the application after the operators responded to the concerns.

Joe Gillam had applied to the council for a licence to serve alcohol at the Pedn Olva Shelters in The Warren, St Ives. He told the committee that the new venue is set to open next Easter subject to planning permission being granted.

Under the plans Mr Gillam said that he and his partners in the business want to run a cafe from the site, which would be mainly focused on food. He explained that there were plans for a kitchen and serving area at the top of the site with booths planned for the shelters along with a balcony area which will have tables and seating.

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Mr Gillam explained that the location is owned by Cornwall Council, which had invited tenders from people wanting to operate a business from the site. He applied and his proposal was accepted by the council.

He said that works were planned to improve the railings on the steps close to the site “to improve safety” and said that the project was a “work in progress” with plans to submit a planning application later this month.

Mr Gillam said: “The idea is it will be an alfresco cafe with an option to sell alcohol for light refreshments. It is not going to be a bar, it will be more like a restaurant. We will be catering for people on holiday, obviously families, it will be more of a premium offering. It is certainly not for people just coming for a drink.”

The site of the proposed new Pedn Olva cafe in St Ives which has been granted a licence to serve alcohol (Image: from council documents)

The site of the proposed new Pedn Olva cafe in St Ives which has been granted a licence to serve alcohol (Image: from council documents)

The application sought a licence to operate from 8am to 11pm each day, and until midnight on bonfire night and Halloween, extending to 2am on New Year’s Eve. However Mr Gillam said that they expected to be busiest between 4pm and 6pm and would close at dusk most days.

There had been no objections from statutory authorities including the police, health and safety and environmental protection. However there were six objections from local residents.

Among the concerns were noise and potential anti-social behaviour, and concerns that steps leading from the site to the beach could become crowded by people using the cafe and “create unacceptable safety issues”.

Mr Gillam said that he could understand initial concerns as there had been uncertainty about what the new venue would be. He said: “We understand people thought we were putting a nightclub in, which we don’t want to do at all. This is just a cafe.”

In agreeing to grant the licence the committee said it considered all the representations from objectors, and said that the objections had not been supported by authorities around health and safety and environmental health.