A Milton Keynes café backed by a Great British Bake Off chef has faced opposition from neighbours. Owners of Canal Street Coffee, which is due to open at Campbell Wharf Marina, are seeking a licence to play live music and sell alcohol.
Licencing documents for the Milton Keynes café suggest the build and fit-out have been completed this month. If the licences are approved, Canal Street Coffee could have live music on Friday and Saturday evenings, along with Sunday afternoons.
Alcohol could also be sold from 10am until 9.30pm from Sunday to Thursday, and 10am until 10.30pm on Friday and Saturday. Although the owners say they have no intention of changing the peaceful setting, some neighbours claim it is "unacceptable" as they bought their nearby properties for the "beautiful quiet idyllic surroundings of the canal and Marina".
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Canal Street Coffee is a daytime café with a ground floor and mezzanine with an outside area overlooking the canal. Former police officer Paul Ashby is a co-owner and designated premises supervisor, while other partners include the owners of Doe & Fawn Coffee Roasters and Tracy Wong, who appeared on Great British Bake Off: The Professionals.
Mr Ashby has stressed in a letter to neighbours that it is a locally owned and run business made up of local people. Despite the plans for an "exciting" new café, Ailsa Medd, who lives on Canal Street, voiced multiple concerns about the licence requests in a representation to Milton Keynes City Council.
Firstly she claimed it would impact parking in the area which is already under strain, while also stating its location 100 yards away from the Warbler on the Wharf pub would encourage alcohol consumption along the canal. Surinder Pal and Geijo Ram, who live in an apartment near the café, echoed these fears.
Objecting to the application to the council, they said residents' quality of life in the "family area" would be affected, labelling the plans as "unacceptable". Co-owner Mr Ashby has looked to address these concerns expressed in a response to the objections filed to the authority.
He said a small selection of alcohol will only be available to complement the coffee and food. He added that the 10.30pm limit for the sale of alcohol was requested as the maximum number of hours they want to have the licence in place, while it will only look to open late on weekend evenings in the summer months.
Mr Ashby also moved to reassure neighbours that the cafe would not be a new late-night venue like the popular MK11 bar. He said: "The live music concerns are again understandable without any context.
"A licence is required if you want a full-on rock band, a DJ or simply a person sat in the corner playing an acoustic guitar. We envision our requirement will be closer on the scale of the latter.
"Again, we would have a music accompaniment that complements our offering, a jazz singer, acoustic guitarist or non-electric band. I saw a concern our venue would become the next MK11 - absolutely not!"
In regards to the parking situation, Mr Ashby said part of the customer strategy will be to encourage other means of transport to visit the café. A decision is due to be made at the council's licensing sub-committee meeting on Monday, June 26.