A popular restaurant announced it would celebrate being granted a licence to sell alcohol before a decision was made by councillors.
Silures, which already runs restaurants in Cardiff and Penarth, recently opened another site at the former Holm House hotel and spa.
Holm House, which hosted a number of celebrities like David Hasselhoff, Daniel Craig and Harry Styles, struggled after the Covid-19 pandemic and closed last year.
Once it re-opened as a restaurant, the new owners applied to Vale of Glamorgan Council for a licence to sell alcohol and host events at the venue - something that residents living nearby were already worried about.
Prior to a licensing sub-committee meeting on Tuesday, Silures posted on its Facebook account: “Next week, we’ll be raising a glass as we celebrate receiving our licence to serve alcohol – and to mark the occasion, we’re excited to launch an exclusive subscriber offer."
“As a thank‑you for subscribing to our newsletter, enjoy 25% off your next à la carte food bill with us on a Wednesday or Thursday.”
Silures was granted its premises licence after Tuesday’s meeting. But ahead of the committee’s decision, one of the the company's directors, Daf Andrews, apologised to residents for how its social media post came across.
He said the social media post was made “on the basis if we received the licence...this is how we would celebrate”.
He added: "We would never assume…and we are certainly not spreading misinformation. We were confident and maybe in hindsight we could have phrased it differently."
Representing Silures at the meeting from TLT solicitors, Matthew Phipps, said: "That is the first I am aware of it when it was mentioned earlier. It probably merits conversation with my client, but at the moment it sounds unfortunate and I can only apologise."
Chief among the concerns of residents about the proposed licence were the hours and use of the outdoor area for events.
Complaints were made to Silures regarding an event they held at Holm House in July under a temporary event notice.
One resident, Ian Wheadon, said he could hear “the thumping of bass” at 8.30pm from his lounge. He said the noise “could be heard down the street” and added that it was a “public nuisance”.
Commenting on a video that Mr Wheadon took on the night to demonstrate the impact on residents, Mr Phipps argued that people could still be heard speaking at conversational levels and added “I don’t see that there is any evidence of public nuisance”.
There was a premises licence in place at Holm House when the site was a hotel, but this was surrendered in July 2024.
The new licence, now in place at Holm House, will allow the sale of alcohol from Sunday to Thursday between the hours of 12pm to 11pm and Friday to Saturday between the hours of 10am and midnight.
Use of the garden area at the premises will be allowed up until 8pm on Sundays, 10pm on a weekday and 11pm on the weekend.
Another resident, Nicky Evans, argued that the opening hours being proposed for the premises was too late, adding: “We as residents have jobs, schools and lives to lead…we need a good night's sleep and we feel we are entitled to a good night's sleep.”
Mr Wheadon later said: "A restaurant with a bar is borderline acceptable. Venues with late music in this area is not acceptable and never will be acceptable."
Marine Parade and the area around it was described by residents at the licensing meeting as a quiet residential area where "one could hear a pin drop."
James Murray said: “It is an extremely quiet residential area…background noise is almost zero.”
One resident, Beth Randall, said the noise coming from Holm House at the event in July was “so loud” and also said the hours being proposed was too much.
Ms Randall added: “This is a residential road and I don’t think the owners would like to live next to their own business. [I have] no objection to a restaurant. It is the big events…it is just anti-social."
Silures agreed to include a number of conditions proposed by South Wales Police on its licence to minimise any potential disruption.
There were no objections to the licence from any other of the responsible authorities.
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