Scarborough’s Alpamare water park will be allowed to serve alcohol from 8am daily despite local objections.
Alcohol can be served from 8am until 10pm seven days a week at the recently reopened Alpamare water park despite concerns about “irresponsible behaviour” and noise levels.
North Yorkshire Council’s licensing sub-committee approved the application at a meeting on Tuesday.
Committee chair, Coun Tim Grogan said:
“Having taken into consideration all the paperwork and the variables presented today, our decision is to grant the licence.”
The 8am licence would allow the water park’s spa to provide “champagne breakfasts” and would “future-proof” the licence, said Andrew Cunningham, Alpamare’s designated premises supervisor.
But public objectors argued that serving alcohol from early in the day was “irresponsible” and that noise from the site would “negatively affect nearby properties”.
Alpamare reopened last month after North Yorkshire Council gave Flamingo Land a contract to run the £14m park which had been shut since its former owners went into administration.
The waterpark has several indoor and outdoor pools, slides, a spa, restaurant, bar and associated facilities.
While Flamingo Land is the operator of the water park, the licensing application was submitted by North Yorkshire Council.
A public objector, David Knowles, told the committee that:
“Most pubs in Scarborough open around 11am so I don’t see why you need a licence from 8am to 10pm”.
“All swimming safety organisations say that alcohol and swimming don’t mix.”
Mr Knowles added:
“I don’t think you’ve done a proper risk assessment and I don’t think you have enough trained staff.
“One death could close the place for good, so I think you really need to consider this.”
The application had received no objections from authorities including North Yorkshire Police or North Yorkshire Council.
Conditions state that alcohol will be prohibited in the children’s area, wave pool, flumes, or changing rooms, alcohol will only be sold to people who have bought a ticket to the water park, and a Challenge 25 policy will be in place.
The premises supervisor, Mr Cunnigham, added that there would be no glassware and that drinks in glass bottles such as champagne or wine would be decanted into plastic containers.
Local resident Rita Holmes, who is the manager of a nearby apartment complex, urged the committee to reconsider the application.
Ms Holmes said she could “hear the noise inside my property” and warned that serving alcohol “would make matters worse”.
Coun Grogan, a former police and licensing officer, said the committee did “not take this decision lightly” and noted, “however, that if this premises operates outside the licence, it can be reviewed”.
He added that some of the conditions would “have to be tailored” as well as adding a condition explicitly banning the use of drugs.
The council took control of the site last year after the collapse of Benchmark Leisure Ltd, which struggled with rising energy costs.
Alpamare opened in North Bay in 2016 and the company was given a £9m loan from what was then Scarborough Council.
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