Lennon's 'noisy' former local wins in planning row

A pub that was once John Lennon's local will be allowed to convert its cellar into a bar area.

The owners of Ye Cracke, on Rice Street in Liverpool city centre, were facing opposition from neighbours over levels of noise coming from the venue.

But Liverpool City Council licensing chiefs said the change at the pub - which was a regular haunt of Beatle Lennon during his days at the nearby art college - could go ahead.

Landlord Michael Girling said he was confident the pub could be "a good neighbour", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The pub opened in the 1800s and, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, was a regular haunt of Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe, who studied at the Liverpool College of Art and lived on nearby Gambier Terrace.

Ye Cracke was taken over in September after being closed for refurbishment for about six months.

Ahead of the meeting, people living in houses nearby said there had been a significant increase in noise since Ye Cracke Incorporated Ltd took over last year.

Former councillor Janet Kent, who lives nearby, said there was "no way [the cellar conversion] will be anything other than a noise nuisance".

Kent added that Girling had "obfuscated" in response to concerns about the noise, and that the cellar would become a "den for football fans".

Resident Steve Squire said noise problems from the pub had had a negative impact on neighbours' mental health and had made a property sale fall through.

Girling told the meeting that the conversion would stop people from going into the beer garden when it was busy.

He added: "I am confident we are doing everything we can to be a good neighbour in this residential area. I don't know anything else we can do.

"It harms me financially to close the beer garden at 9pm but I do because I want to be a good neighbour.

"To me, it helps the residents, not hinders them."

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