A new £3m rugby club complex has won its controversial application to sell alcohol.

The proposal was said to be crucial to the sustainability of the Avery Fields Sports and Events centre in Edgbaston which is now serving as the first permanent home to Bournville Rugby Football Club in its 109-year history.

Birmingham City Council had previously rejected the application on the back of concerns from West Midlands Police and around 100 residents.

They claimed it would cause a public noise nuisance and potentially add to existing problems with anti-social behaviour in the area surrounding the Sandon Road site.

But this week (Wednesday, September 26), a licensing sub committee approved a significantly altered application.

The key changes from the original licence which was sought now mean that alcohol can only be served and consumed within the clubhouse and not outside on the pitch areas which had been touted for other events.

The site at Sandon Road where the £3m Avery Fields complex is being constructed.
The site at Sandon Road where the £3m Avery Fields complex is being constructed.

Whilst the operating hours have also been reduced from until 2am down to midnight Friday and Saturday and 11pm throughout the rest of the week.

Avery Fields also withdrew its licence request for regulated entertainment which includes live and recorded music as well as hosting indoor sporting events.

However, the club's barrister Duncan Craig said licensing legislation meant it would still be able to play music to a certain decibel level up until 11pm for an event attended by fewer than 500 people.

It means the club, which has to raise £200,000 every ten years to replace the playing surface, can still hire out the clubhouse for things like family parties to generate income.

It also wants to make it available for other uses ranging from Sky Sports business conferences to local yoga classes.

Mr Craig said: "This is a rugby club seeking to provide what virtually every other rugby club in the country provides."

He added: "This is now a straight-forward application for the sale of alcohol within relatively constrained hours.

"There is no danger of noise constituting a public nuisance from these premises.

"There has to be a balance between the commercial interests of the licence holder and the wider community.

"Alcohol has the capacity to make people behave in a highly anti-social way, but equally that's why we have conditions on the licence."

West Midlands Police dropped its previous objections as a result of the changes but some residents remain opposed.

John Spooner, who has lived in nearby Poplar Avenue for more than 30 years, said: "The noise coming from there is horrendous.

"The times are very excessive it is going to go on every day. It is too much for residents to bare.

"Sitting out in your garden was like being in the middle of the countryside. It's not like that anymore there is constant noise coming from the sports field."

While Pav Sidhu, representing the North West Edgbaston Neighbourhood Forum, questioned why Avery Fields had withdrawn its bid for regulated entertainment claiming he understood it to be essential to the venue's viability.

He also accused the organisation of expanding its original development plans although he was told that planning matters were irrelevant to the licensing application by committee chairman Cllr Mike Leddy.

Mr Sidhu said: "In my view the applicant is confused with what they want to do and what they feel they can get away with applying for.

"They have been fairly incoherent. If they can violate planning the chances are they will violate the licensing objectives."