St Stephen's Church in Ipswich gets late-night licence

The leaseholder at a deconsecrated medieval church has been granted a new premises licence for events and gigs.

St Stephen's Church in Arras Square, Ipswich, can now remain open and serve alcohol as late as 02:00 on some days.

The church was one of five venues around the town that hosted the music festival Brighten the Corners in June.

The building leaseholder Sounds East CIC said: "This is absolutely amazing news as we move forward with establishing the church as a cafe-bar."

A spokesperson added: "The granting of the premises licence opens up more opportunities for gigs, events and third-party hires in the space and is a big step forward in adding to the nightlife scene in the town."

The licence was granted by Ipswich Borough Council earlier this month.

Neil MacDonald, Labour leader of Ipswich Borough Council, said: "The transformation of St Stephen's Church has been a fantastic boost to the town centre since reopening earlier this year.

"The approval of the premises licence is a welcome addition to Sounds East CIC who've successfully grown the venue into an iconic space, bringing local music talent to the Ipswich community as well as non-musical events which can also make use of the building."

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