A bid to allow alcohol sales and live music at a café and bike hire business near Great Ayton has divided the local community, with dozens of residents writing both in support and opposition.
Bike Base North York Moors Ltd has applied for a new premises licence for its venue on Dikes Lane.
The application would allow alcohol sales for consumption on the premises, as well as live and recorded music and dancing indoors and outdoors, from 10am until 8pm seven days a week.
North Yorkshire Council has received 25 objections to the proposals, alongside 49 letters of support.
Supporters have described Bike Base as an asset to the area and said the licence would strengthen a rural business while providing another amenity for walkers, cyclists and residents.
One local resident said cycling tourism brought wider benefits to accommodation providers, cafés, restaurants, shops and attractions, arguing that the proposals would help support local employment and business activity.
Another supporter said the café was well managed and operated responsibly, adding that the licence would provide an additional amenity while helping a local business to succeed.
A local rural club said it had previously considered holding committee meetings at Bike Base but members wanted somewhere where they could also buy a pint or glass of wine.
The club argued the proposed 8pm finish was within “sociable hours” and described the venue as “not a party venue”, but somewhere people could relax in the countryside.
However, neighbours have raised concerns about noise, traffic and the impact on the tranquillity of the North York Moors National Park.
One objector, who said they lived around ten metres from the premises, feared noise from music, outdoor conversations and vehicles.
They also claimed a previous party at Bike Base had resulted in music which disturbed residents for much of the day.
Another resident said music could undermine the peace and quiet enjoyed by residents and visitors, while raising concerns about people who had been drinking walking along the dark and narrow Dikes Lane.
A further submission highlighted the road’s poor sightlines and lack of a footpath, as well as arguing that music could disturb wildlife including bats and owls.
The application will go before the authority’s statutory licensing sub-committee on Tuesday, September 1.
Councillors can grant the licence as requested, approve it with amended conditions, or reject all or part of the application.
A spokesperson for the venue declined to comment until after the hearing.
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