A WELL-KNOWN restaurant is likely to stay closed for at least a year as an emotional plea by an exhausted café owner for its late-night opening hours to be cut was rejected.

Frances Fosh, who owns and lives above Charlie’s Café in Sidbury, had called on Worcester City Council to review the opening hours of next-door neighbour Primo restaurant, after “extreme” noise levels emanating from the restaurant had left her “mentally and physically exhausted and angry.”

Peter Burgoyne, the restaurant's landlord, said the restaurant had not been used since it was put up for sale in August and would likely remain closed for at least another year while he looked for another tenant, at a licensing subcommittee meeting yesterday (December 20).

Worcester City Council's licensing subcommittee said it did not have enough evidence that the noise from the restaurant was disturbing Ms Fosh to change its opening hours and rejected her plea for a review.

Cllr Louise Griffiths, chairman of the licensing subcommittee, said the council had a lot of sympathy with Ms Fosh but the majority of her complains related to a previous lease owner.

She said she hoped the 12 months the restaurant would be empty would give Ms Fosh the opportunity for respite.

Ms Fosh, who is in her early 70s, said the flat she has lived in since 1986 “rocked” from the amount of noise on New Year’s Eve last year and fireworks let off until 1.30am had frightened her young grandchildren.

Ms Fosh said she and her family had resorted to cramping into one bedroom furthest away from the restaurant but were still plagued by noise.

The council’s licensing subcommittee had already approved changes to the restaurant’s licence in September 2017 to allow for a former car park at the restaurant to be converted into a beer garden.

Stipulations banned DJs from performing in the restaurant and from speakers from being installed in the garden.

The licence also said the beer garden must also be closed and cleared by 11pm. The restaurant's current licence means it can sell alcohol until 1am.

If a new tenant took over the building or the restaurant, the licence would also be transferred.

Cllr Lynn Denham, who was speaking in support of Ms Fosh, said the cafe owner should not have to live with the noise and council enforcement officers had perhaps let her down.