COPPLESTONE Farm Shop is seeking a licence to sell alcohol and have live music up to seven days a week.

Owners Lucy Babb and Michaela Bundy want to sell locally made alcohol in bottles and cans for customers to drink at home and host outdoor events with a licensed bar and live music.

The hours they have applied for are 8am to 11pm Monday to Sunday.

Mses Babb and Bundy have agreed with police if the licence is granted to stop selling alcohol for drinking on the premises 30 minutes prior to closing, that all drinks for consumption on site be served in toughened glass or recyclable cups, and that all live music events be ticketed to control numbers.

Mid Devon District Council’s licensing sub-committee will decide whether to approve or refuse the licence when it meets on Thursday, July 9.

The council has said that a licence is not required for live music between 8am and 11pm if there are fewer than 500 people in the audience.

Mid Devon District Council has received nine letters about the plans, of which one was in support and eight were against.

The person who supported the licence being granted said: “The owners have made a positive contribution to the village since opening the shop and through a number of events.

“Each one has been managed to be safe, positive and with local residents in mind.

“The space itself is a little away from residence with ample space away from the road which further supports safety, and being a walking distance in the village offers some assurance that driving is not necessary from any licensed events they may hold.

“Since the shop’s beginning I believe it to be well managed and I would be confident in expecting any further expansion of services to follow suit.”

A resident against the plans said: “The site is elevated and open above the quiet village with no ability to mitigate noise nuisance. The site adjoins a housing estate and open country.

“The premises proposed have no physical boundary within the Dulings Farm yard, which has a public right of way through it. Therefore it would not be possible to stop underage people from being on site as proposed.”

Another resident added: “There would be an increase in vehicle movements and although the premises has some parking, there is no way it could accommodate any more than a few vehicles.

“For the application to be seven days a week is totally excessive and would have a huge detrimental impact on the surrounding area.

“There are children living within the immediate vicinity who would be exposed to an increase in disorder, noise, drunken behaviour.”

Copplestone Parish Council did not object to the proposed licence in principle but called for a “trial period” to “provide the applicant with a fair opportunity to demonstrate that the premises can operate responsibly”.

You can see the application on Mid Devon District Council’s website under reference 031749.