Newcastle City Centre Greggs could be allowed to operate 24/7 under new plans

The bakery giant is bidding to extend the opening hours of two of its most prominent branches in the heart of Tyneside. Bosses at the famous food chain have applied to Newcastle City Council for longer hours at the Greggs shop on Neville Street, directly opposite Central Station, and on Grainger Street.

The proposals, which have been met with concerns from Northumbria Police, were due to go before the council’s licensing sub-committee on Tuesday, September 9. However, the hearing has been delayed by a week and will now be held on Tuesday, September 16.

Greggs’ applications included a bid to extend the opening times of the Neville Street store to 24 hours a day. It currently opens from 5am to 4am Tuesday to Saturday, 6am to 8.30pm on Sunday, and 6.30am to 4am on Monday.

On Grainger Street, Greggs also applied to extend its late night refreshment licence to allow sales until 5am daily. That unit currently opens from 5.30am to 4am every day except on Sunday, when it is 8am to 8.30pm.

Greggs does already operate 24/7 at Newcastle International Airport, but abandoned hopes of all-day trading in London’s Leicester Square in 2023 following concerns that it could become a hotspot for late-night disorder.

Northumbria Police objected to the company’s city centre plans on the grounds that the area “already suffers from elevated levels of alcohol related anti-social behaviour and crime and disorder”.

In response, Greggs had offered to scale back its plans last month. It proposed shorter hours for both outlets in question, on the proviso that both would be allowed to open 24/7 as required to allow for staff to move in and out and for baking to be carried out – though they would not be open to the public outside the permitted licensed hours.

However, no agreement was reached with city authorities and Greggs had been planning to argue for its originally requested hours at today’s hearing. That meeting was deferred by a week at the request of Northumbria Police, whose solicitor Hayley Hebb requested extra time for officers to provide evidence on crime and anti-social behaviour issues in the city centre late at night.

Ben Williams, representing Greggs, argued that the force had already had “plenty of opportunity” if they wanted to highlight any specific concerns about Greggs and had not done so. He said that the police were “undoubtedly” under pressure in the city centre, but that Greggs was not a contributor to those problems.

The licensing sub-committee’s chair, Coun George Pattison, said he wanted the issue resolved “as quickly as possible” – either at the rearranged hearing next week or with a behind-closed-doors compromise agreement.