Members of Pembrokeshire County Council’s licensing sub-committee have given the thumbs up to a new microbrewery in Tenby.

An application from licensees Mike Evans and Douglas Waters for the Harbwr Brewery, Sergeants Lane, St. Julian’s Street, was approved by members of the authority’s licensing sub-committee on Monday.

The premises has been given permission to sell alcohol from 9 am until 11 pm, seven- days-a-week.

Despite the committee receiving four letters of objection to the proposals, all from near neighbours, who raised a number of concerns over proposals for music and films at the venue, as well as intentions for the premises to stay open until 11 pm, the applicants explained that the request for films and music had been an error and had been formally withdrawn.

Clr. Evans, who was speaking in his capacity as a businessman, explained to the committee that the premises, which is located to the rear of the Buccaneer Inn would hold a maximum of 35 people and the plan was to provide local food to accompany the ale.

He said that the business was presently negotiating to change a condition granted by the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, as part of the premises’ planning application, that allowed for the opening until 9 pm.

Co-licensee Mr. Waters explained that if the brewing process at the premises were to finish at 7 pm, they wanted to allow visitors plenty of time to enjoy the product, accompanied by Welsh delicacies and not ‘turn them out’ at 9 pm.

Clr. Evans said that the microbrewery was a ‘niche specialist business’ which would improve the visitor offer in Tenby and had started the regeneration of a run-down area of the town.

Committee members stated that they were satisfied that the application promoted all four of the council’s licensing objectives and that the objections raised had been addressed by the revised application, before granting approval to the licence.