Eastbourne burger stand wants to stay open later at night and sell alcohol

A burger stand’s bid for late night opening is set to go before Eastbourne councillors next week. 
Dirty Burger Bros in Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-211105-092034001Dirty Burger Bros in Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-211105-092034001
Dirty Burger Bros in Eastbourne (Photo by Jon Rigby) SUS-211105-092034001

On Tuesday (May 18), an Eastbourne Borough Council licensing committee is set to consider an application connected to Dirty Burger Bros a takeaway on the corner of Old Orchard Road. 

In its application, the takeaway is seeking permission to serve food until 2am on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as a licence to serve alcohol with food.

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According to the application, the takeaway has agreed a number of conditions (including installation of CCTV) with Sussex Police, which has not raised any objections as a result.

While no concerns have been raised by police, the plans have seen objections raised by some local residents, due to fears around noise nuisance and public disorder.

Many of the concerns revolve around the sale of alcohol, which neighbours say could see customers drinking on the street outside. This, they argue, would breach Eastbourne’s  Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) against consumption of alcohol in the town centre.

Other concerns include the opening hours sought by the business. As well as the 2am opening on Fridays and Saturdays, the business is seeking to open until midnight on Thursdays.

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It would open until 11pm on all other nights (which it does not need a licence to do), except the Sundays before Bank Holidays when it would also close at 2am. 

Writing on behalf of Stafford House, a residential building opposite the takeaway, neighbour Mary Gray said: “The introduction of food and drink at late hours for consumption in the street, will turn the area into a mecca for people exiting pubs and clubs wishing to extend their night out.

“We really cannot accept this as it will cause an enormous public nuisance to what is in effect a residential area. 

“We acknowledge the intentions of the DBB to moderate behaviour, we do not believe that in practice this is what will happen. Customers coming late at night to purchase food are often inebriated anyway so it is not realistic to expect customers to adhere to the rules. 

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“We would prefer those customers to be discouraged from coming to our neighbourhood to avoid public order issues, thus not adding to the workload of our already overworked police force.

“This type of operation is better suited to other commercial areas of Eastbourne, although we would question the wisdom of allowing any business to add to the problem of late-night drunkenness and public littering in Eastbourne.”

In her letter, Ms Gray also called for extra conditions, including earlier closing times and a ban on selling alcohol over the counter. She also called for the business to help pay the cost of installing private property signs for the Stafford House building.

A decision on the licence will be made following a hearing on Tuesday, May 18.

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