A MICRO-BREWERY set to open next month has had its licensing hours extended, despite residents’ concerns.

Brew Monster currently has two premises in Cardiff and is set to officially open its third in Caerphilly town centre on January 29 – a week before the Six Nations rugby championship kicks off. However, the company has said it will be having a “soft opening” of the main bar next month on select days.

The new premise is at Lon y Twyn in Caerphilly town centre, in what used to be a plumber’s merchant. The company had planning permission granted in October last year and had its first alcohol licence approved the month before that.

Originally the micro-brewery was allowed to serve alcohol between 4pm and 11pm on weekdays, and between midday and 11pm on Saturdays. However, it can now open between 9am and 11pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

The alcohol licence was approved by Caerphilly County Borough Council on Thursday, November 18, following a licensing and gambling committee meeting on November 11.

Glenn White, managing director at Brew Monster, said the extension of the licence would help the business to compete with neighbouring premises.

Mr White said Brew Monster had agreed to restricted hours during the week to accommodate residents.

Residents raised concerns about the extension of weekend hours at the licensing and gambling committee meeting as well as complaints about ongoing building work. However, the latter was not considered by the committee as it was not a licensing concern.

Mr White said he was not aware of any incidents between residents and construction workers, but if he had been he would be concerned.

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Kath Jordan, who was representing her elderly mother who lives next to the brewery, said that the smoking area concerned her and that its proximity to the house would “severely impact her wellbeing”.

Mrs Jordan added that Mr White had spoken with her mother multiple times about her concerns and had built a “good relationship” with him.

Mr White said he would work with Mrs Jordan and her mother to address their concerns, he added that the business wanted to be a “good neighbour”.

In a statement on Facebook, Brew Monster said: “While we have set January 29 as our grand opening, we will also be opening the main bar area in December for a select number of dates where our thirsty, patient – thank you for that by the way – customers can come and have a beer and take a look at the bar and brewery so far.

“We have not taken this decision lightly, and we feel that allowing the build this extra time hopefully saves us from delaying things further yet again.

“See you guys for a soft launch in December.”