A cocktail bar in Felixstowe must return to its original use as a restaurant if it is to stay open.

The Skye Lounge on Undercliff Road West was turned from a restaurant to a cocktail bar without planning permission, but an East Suffolk Council decision yesterday put a stop to this use.

The verdict was based on disturbance to residents in the houses behind since it opened as a bar in December 2021, though some councillors were reluctant to remove a business that supports tourism from Felixstowe's sea front.

Cllr Stuart Bird, who represents western Felixstowe, said: "I would be loath to support refusal because we need a more vibrant offer for tourists in Felixstowe, and we don't have enough drinking establishments.

"Having said that, I am conscious of the complaints and noise spillage. I would prefer to approve with conditions to ensure more reasonable opening hours and less noise."

Stuart Bird

The council's environmental protection team has received 26 complaints by two residents about noise from music and customers while the Skye Lounge has been running as a bar.

An officer stated the applicant was willing to change the Saturday closing time by half an hour to 12.30am, but the council's environmental health team wanted the latest closing time to be 11.30pm between April and September and 11pm between October and March.

The current opening hours are 12pm to 12am every day except Saturday, when the closing time is 1am.

The officer also mentioned that music noise levels had been brought up with the applicant but there had been no response. The environmental health team stated these should be lower.

Cllr Deacon, who also represents western Felixstowe, said: "I will be opposing this on the grounds of noise.

"As I see it, the applicant has had many opportunities to improve the application but they haven't done so."

The final vote saw six in favour of refusal and one against.