A lawyer defending a Melbourne restaurant claims the "price point" of the venue's menu will ensure good behaviour.

South Derbyshire District Council allowed Amalfi White, in Derby Road, to have customers drinking alcohol in its rear beer garden until 11pm, up from 10pm.

This was allowed partly because previous complaints from residents were never substantiated.

However, councillors rejected the other half of the venue's application to also allow customers to drink alcohol at the front of the restaurant, on a narrow area close to the road, until 11pm – up from 8pm.

This was due to the perceived heightened risk of additional "confrontations" between customers and members of the public, including punters from the Alma Inn which sits directly opposite.

It was thought that allowing customers to sit at the front of Amalfi White, with alcohol, could cause a "flashpoint" for confrontations.

The lack of almost any distance between the venue's potential front outdoor seating area and Derby Road was also seen as a risk due to highways safety concerns, particularly for customers who may have had a lot to drink.

Councillors also told the venue that it must increase CCTV coverage in its rear beer garden, which currently excludes the children's play area.

Before the hearing last Thursday, four objection letters had been submitted to the council by residents opposing the plans.

Residents, the police and the council's licensing team all felt that the venue should not be granted its extensions for outdoor alcohol consumption due to previous complaints over noise.

They said the issue had led to disturbance and for residents, including children, to lose sleep.

Tim Shield, of John Gaunt & Partners, the legal representative for Amalfi White said that in the hearing that there had never been any evidence of crime and disorder linked to the venue.

He also said there had only been a small number of objection letters, which represented a tiny proportion of the town's population, and complaints over the years, none of which had been substantiated.

Mr Shield said: "There has been significant investment in what is a very nice restaurant in Melbourne town centre.

"Covid has impacted everybody in the country, including the hospitality industry and they are looking for ways to maximise and expand and also have people outdoor to allow social distancing.

"It is not fair to say a vast majority of people are against it.

"There are very good managers at the premises and no complaints after 10pm.

"The owners have invested money in this venue and it encourages, by its very nature, good behaviour. The price point of the menu tells that."

The menu shows that bottles of Dom Perignon are available at £395 each, along with bottles of wine up to £80 for a red and £68 for a white. Meals stretch from £16.25 to £30.50 for a main course. The cheapest bottled beer is non-alcoholic and costs £3.50.

Mr Shield said that the lack of any in-person objectors at the hearing – held eight miles from the venue during a pandemic – may suggest the lack of opposition to the plans and that the venue had improved.

Access to the council's Swadlincote HQ, where the hearing was held, was far from easy, with entrance only allowed by appointment or for an emergency, with no option for residents or press trying to attend a public meeting but to wait for someone to pass by and frantically wave through a window.

Police said a noise complaint had been raised with it and the council in April, after the venue's application was submitted. It was investigated and nothing out of order was found, with customers with alcohol all leaving the outdoor area before 10pm.

Another incident in October was also investigated, but Mark Lomas, the council's licensing officer, said the CCTV had not been working so it was "not possible to prove or disprove" the complaint.

PC Gareth Fowler, a police licensing officer, said other venues in the area which have later hours for outdoor alcohol consumption have seen complaints raised due to noise disturbance.

He acknowledged that it was a "fear or a worry" that allowing customers to drink alcohol outdoors at the front of the premises would lead to more issues.

PC Fowler also said it was well established that people who take their drink with them while they stand outside are likely to stay there longer, potentially causing more disturbance.

He confirmed Amalfi White was a "well-run premises".

Sian McPherson, the designated premises supervisor at Amalfi White, told the hearing that there was always a staff member present at the front and back of the premises, and that she can also monitor the CCTV from her phone.

She said the venue had a capacity for 110 people in the rear garden – pre-Covid – and that, typically, most customers came to the venue for a meal, not just for drinks, and that it "generally was not a rowdy environment".

Adam Devey Smith, one of the venue's owners, told the hearing that customers do not like being told to leave their drinks unattended at their table in order to go outside to have a cigarette.

He also said it took time to clear people from the beer garden, meaning it has to be shut down well in advance of 10pm, saying "we just do not want to break the law".

After a 30-minute break for a debate, the licensing panel, through Liz Page, the council's senior legal advisor, shared the decision to approve part and reject part of the venue's application.

She said that the rejection for plans to allow alcohol consumption outdoor at the front of the venue until 11pm could lead to "nuisance and possible conflict" and that the rear beer garden hours were allowed due to "no substantiated complaints since 2016".