A NEW ‘bistro and emporium’ in Alton’s Market Square has applied for a premises licence, which could see the venue open until the early hours, serving alcohol and playing live music.

The Twisted Teacup Bistro and Emporium, located at 13 Market Square – once the Alton Herald office – offers “a tearoom by day and a tapas/cocktail bar by night,” its social media description reads.

Under the new premises licence, the venue’s opening hours would extend to 9am to 1am from Monday to Sunday.

Live music “indoors and outdoors” would also be allowed to play from 11pm to 1am – with the application confirming “the majority of music will be solo lounge singers, jazz, soul and solo singers”, as well as the sale of alcohol “on and off the premises” from 10am to 1am.

The application is to go before East Hampshire District Council’s licensing sub-committee tomorrow (Friday), but has already received a recommendation of objection from Alton Town Council’s planning and transport committee.

The committee objected to the application on the grounds of “potential for public nuisance and noise disturbance” because of the venue’s proximity to residential dwellings, with the council recommending there should be no live music inside or outside the building after 11pm, and no sale of alcohol outside the building after 11pm.

Also commenting on the application, town councillor for Alton Westbrooke, Richard Platt, said: “Given there are already four licensed premises in the Market Square with late licences, and there have been issues relating to anti-social behaviour, littering and noise in the past and around the Market Square, I feel another premises with a late license could only make matters worse.

“This application, if approved, would allow the Twisted Teacup to serve alcohol and host live music inside and outside until 1am, seven days a week.

“I believe this would be the only premises in Alton with such an extensive period of opening allowed.

“I feel a regular premises licence (serve alcohol until 11pm) with no late licence element would be the most appropriate for this business. If a late licence is to be considered it should be limited Fridays and Saturdays with no live music after 11pm.”

The application will be considered at tomorrow’s (Friday) licensing committee meeting at 10am.