A POPULAR music venue is facing local opposition in its plans to stay open late for 31 nights a year.

The Tramshed in Grangetown, Cardiff, is applying for planning permission to stay open until 3am for certain nights, including New Year’s Eve and Hallowe'en.

In summer last year Cardiff council gave permission for the 31 nights a year, up from the previous maximum of 21, in a year-long trial. Now Tramshed, in Pendyris Street, has asked to extend this trial by another year.

But local councillors and residents are objecting to the plans, as the venue is in a residential area and noisy revellers leaving the venue can cause problems in the early hours of the morning.

Cllrs Ashley Lister and Linda Thorne, both representing Grangetown, wrote to the council’s planning department with their concerns.

They said: “Residents in the surrounding areas have approached us with concerns about the continuation of the extended hours at the venue, due to the detrimental impact late night events are having on their quality of life.

"They have shared with us stories of customers of the Tramshed urinating in their front gardens, leaving litter and causing a general nuisance.

“We are aware the operators of the venue committed to mitigating these issues, including having security encourage customers to leave the area as quickly and quietly as possible, and ensuring the area is litter-picked to avoid mess after events.

"Sadly, this does not appear to be the case in streets neighbouring the venue, as demonstrated by the number of signatures on a petition against the extension.”

Local residents also raised similar concerns, writing to the council.

One said: “When events in the Tramshed end at 3am, we see far more disturbing anti-social behaviour, such as litter, vandalism, theft and shouting. These issues are additional to the loud noise late into the night.

"All of these issues disrupt local residents—the venue is surrounded by housing, and club nights are not appropriate for this sort of community.”

In July last year Tramshed told the council it wanted a 12-month trial of being able to stay open until 3am for 31 nights a year.

Previously it had permission to stay open for 21 nights.

Now the venue has said the pandemic and restrictions on club nights meant it could not open anyway for much of the initial trial period.

Writing in July this year, before restrictions in Wales were lifted, planning consultant Carl Copestake said: “While the previous planning application was made in January 2020, the decision was made in July 2020, in the middle of the global pandemic. As a result of this the venue was not able to open again since the permission was granted.”

Tramshed has since reopened with regular gigs, after restrictions were lifted at the start of August. The council’s planning committee is due to decide on granting another 12-month trial, during a meeting on Wednesday, November 3.

Mr Copestake added: “Controls are in place to mitigate against the potential impact on the amenities of local residents, which included avoiding queuing along Pendyris Street, and instead providing queuing for customers along Clare Road back underneath the railway bridge.”

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