A village hall near Sandbach wants to be able to sell alcohol and play live music until 11pm all year round.

Smallwood Village Hall has applied for a premises licence from Cheshire East Council, however several residents have objected to the proposal.

The application would have allowed both live and recorded music to be played from 9am to 11.30pm, seven days a week, with the applicant noting that some events could possibly extend into the car park. The application would have also allowed the sale of alcohol between 11am and 11.30pm.

During the consultation four residents objected to the application, the main issues raised in their objections was the ability to play live and recorded music all year round.

However during the consultation process, the applicant has carried out additional consultations with those residents to allay any fears or concerns they might have. 

As a result two residents who previously objected have given positive feedback and the application has been amended as a result. The amended application has withdrawn the right to play music outside and reduced the sale of alcohol to 11pm Monday to Saturday and 6pm on a Sunday.

Applicant Hazel Salter told the licensing committee: "Smallwood Village Hall is a village hall which accommodates 120 people for functions. We took over as a committee approximately two years ago and since then we've worked really hard with our new team to bring the village back from closure really.

"We have a really strong structure of people in place who have a strong governance in place also and Smallwood Village Hall has over the last two years been improved vastly by the team. Predominantly because we are investing in it as well, financially and the structure of the building, we've made it a much more amenable place, which means people are starting to use it now."

One of the problems the village hall currently faces is booking at short notice. Due to their current situation if people want to use the bar the venue must apply for a temporary event notice – in the past year this has been applied for 12 times.

Ms Salter continued: "What we don't have is the flexibility to offer the hall at present for people to use at short notice and that's predominantly what we're aiming for. I think the application has been seen unfortunately by members of the local residents as a sign we are going to change how things are."

The licensing committee at Cheshire East Council will deliberate on the application, with the outcoming of the hearing being published on 8 January.