By Richard Whitehouse/LDR.

A new bar and bakery in Falmouth has been granted a licence allowing it to become the second in a new chain of venues.

Lawrence's Bakery and Bar had its licence application for a new venue on Discovery Quay approved by Cornwall Council's licensing committee.

Phil Lawrance and Lucy Curnow launched their business almost three years ago with a bakery and bar in Truro and have now expanded into Falmouth. They have been open in the town for a few weeks, operating on a Temporary Event Notice (TENs) licence.

Their application for a permanent licence was approved and the pair were praised by councillors for working with nearby residents to address concerns over noise from the new venue.

The application had initially attracted an objection from residents in Maritime House, but after Phil and Lucy spoke to them and agreed to a number of actions to reduce noise and disturbance the objectors changed their representation and ended up writing a letter in support.

Under the application, Lawrance's Bakery and Bar will be able to serve alcohol from 11am to 11pm and open from 8:30am to 11:30pm. On New Year's Eve the closing time is extended to 1am.

Phil explained to the committee that during the day the venue would serve coffee and cake and then in the evening switch to cocktails and alcoholic drinks. He said: "It is not a late-night bar, we are not aiming for students who are really rowdy. Our audience is people with a bit of money who want nicer drinks."

The committee heard that the venue operates table service and that all customers are seated with Phil explaining "we don't want people just to stand around".

After discussions with nearby residents they have agreed to keep their doors closed later in the evening to avoid noise and music disturbing neighbours. However, they explained that they would only be playing background music so that people are able to have a conversation.

In addition, they have agreed to limit the use of outdoor seating until 10pm, again to avoid disturbing anybody living nearby. They said they would also continue to be in contact with neighbours and would happily address any concerns.

Phil said that in the three weeks that they had operated under their TENs notice they had not had any complaints from anyone and had asked near neighbours if they had been disturbed at all and were told they were happy.

The committee agreed unanimously to grant the licence with the conditions which had previously been agreed upon by the applicants.