COUNCILLORS have blocked a plan to allow customers to drink outside a village pub.

Politicians knocked back the proposal for The Stumble Inn at Holmbridge following an ill-tempered meeting during which an objector complained that the tyres of her car had been slashed.

Mood Developments – which took over the former Shepherds Rest pub last year – asked Kirklees Council for permission to allow customers to take their drinks outside until 8pm.

The company wanted to install three benches in the car park at the side of the Woodhead Road venue.

Mood Developments director Peter Mason told yesterday’s Licensing Panel meeting that the change would help his customers.

“We’ve had a string of walkers and cyclists who have requested that they be allowed to take their drinks outside,” he said.

“There were 20 cyclists who stopped at the pub and, because there was no outside seating area, they had to leave people outside to guard their expensive bikes while they had their drinks inside.

“There’s an area outside where people could quite easily sit and we’ve had a lot of support from residents for this.

“We didn’t really expect this proposal to be contentious given that 8pm is a very reasonable time to stop people going outside.”

Diane Bousted, who lives near the pub, spoke against the outdoor drinking plan at yesterday’s meeting at Huddersfield Town Hall.

“If the licence amendment goes ahead, it’s just going to continue the problems that are happening now,” she said.

Mrs Bousted added: “My car has been vandalised twice since the pub was opened.

“It was a considerable gash – and that means someone is carrying a knife.

“It could be a rogue element, it could be associated with this application.”

Mrs Bousted was the only resident to write to Kirklees to object to the outdoor drinking plan.

But she told the panel: “There’s other people that could have been here today. It’s not just me and you need to realise that.”

Holme Valley South Conservative Clr Donald Firth also brought up the vandalism in his speech against the outdoor drinking plan.

“People are frightened of complaining,” he said.

“One of the residents has had her car tyres slashed twice. She’s had to put a new tyre on today.

“This is something that never ever happened in Hinchliffe Mill.”

Mr Mason told the panel that Clr Firth’s remarks were “outrageous”.

“If someone is slashing tyres in the community, that’s a matter for the police,” he said.

“We’re not part of a gang of tyre slashers.”

Holme Valley South Conservative Clr Nigel Patrick also spoke against the outdoor drinking proposal, saying he had been “inundated” with complaints about noise since The Stumble Inn opened last year.

The panel decided to refuse permission for outdoor drinking because of “evidence from a local resident and councillors” that there was already a noise nuisance problem at the pub.