Teesdale brewer moves to ease objectors' fears

A BREWERY owner has sought to quell fears of rowdy behaviour after his plan to get an entertainment licence triggered a raft of objections. 
Danny McColl, of McColl’s Brewery, in Evenwood, applied for a licence to play music and sell alcohol in the brewing warehouse on Randolph Industrial Estate earlier this month.
But several residents living near the site feared the brewery’s plans would open the door for a “pub” just yards from their homes.
Clerk Martin Clark revealed that Evenwood Parish Council had objected to the application, labelling it “entirely unsuitable”.
He added: “The council felt the licence application was an attempt to side step planning because these changes should have been contained in the planning application.
“The council felt they were misled by the original planning for a micro brewery – totally inappropriate and totally supportive of the local residents in objecting.”
Mr McColl, from Middleton-in-Teesdale, admitted he’d “accidently gone down the wrong avenue” and was pulling back on much of his application.
He said: “I’ve spoken to the council and I’ve retracted a lot of the licence. I just went overboard and went for a catch all licence when really I didn’t want 90 per cent of it.
“It’s just so we can sell some ales when we start brewery tours.”
Moves to open the dale’s first brewery in many years began last November when Mr McColl moved into the site with the help of a crowd-funding campaign.
An application for a refrigeration unit and brewing equipment was given the green light by Durham County Council after backing from the parish last month.
However, the licence proved a bridge too far for residents who attended last week’s parish council meeting in numbers.
Evenwood county councillor Heather Smith did not object to the brewery itself but had some misgivings about the licensing situation.
She said: “It is very close to residential properties in Manor Court and with alcohol sales risks anti-social behaviour.
“The licensing is an extremely strange decision in an exceedingly strange place.”
Mr McColl added that all those who objected would
be notified by the county council about his licence retractions.
He added: “I did not want to upset anybody.
“I have gone down completely and utterly wrong route and hopefully I can put all their minds at ease.”
The brewery hopes to produce its first beers in late April.