Ex-footballer's bid to extend bar opening refused

An ex-footballer's application to extend the opening hours of his wine bar has been rejected by City of Wolverhampton Council.

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender Mo Camara had asked to keep Chill Wine Bar in Tettenhall, Wolverhampton, open half an hour later, until 01:00.

But the local authority refused the application over concerns it would exacerbate late-night noise problems.

The bar's licence was suspended for a month in 2024 after three late-night lock-ins. The council also revealed it was reviewing its licence again after repeated lock-ins earlier this year.

The council's environmental health officer told the licensing hearing on 9 December the wine bar was being investigated over late-night noise.

An examination of CCTV had shown it serving alcohol and playing loud music after hours on two consecutive nights in September, when it was still open at 01:20 GMT despite an agreed 00.30 closing time, the meeting heard.

The council said issues which led to the licence suspension 18 months ago had already been repeated and extending the hours would "only exacerbate them further".

Councillor Zee Russell told Camara at the hearing: "You have got to go some way to prove that you are not going to keep falling foul of the breaches that you have already undertook."

The committee did approve the former footballer's plans to open a first-floor bar, but said it must shut at 23:00, and extended a curfew for children from 18:00 to 21:00.

It also rejected his request to change his licence so late-night door staff were not compulsory at weekends.

The former footballer told the hearing he had experienced a "tough time" after the Covid-19 pandemic and wanted to extend the opening hours to "keep a hold of his business".

Ahead of the hearing, a Tettenhall neighbour said in an objection there had been a issues with "loud music, trouble, inconsiderate parking, shouting [and] swearing" from people visiting the bar.

Camara played 45 times for Wolves in the early 2000s and also made appearances for Celtic, Burnley and Derby.

His venue's licence will be reviewed in full by the council at a hearing in January.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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