‘High end’ drinks and tapas are due to be on offer at a new cocktail and wine bar set to open in Yaxley. 

The Lancaster Lounge has been granted a licence to open the new bar, despite concerns from some neighbours about an increase in noise. 

The new bar is due to open in the former RAFA Lancaster Club in Main Street, which closed back in 2020. 

The owner, Dominic Ricciardi, said he had spent the last three years having the building renovated and hoped to offer people in Yaxley an “array of beautiful drinks and food” in a “relaxed atmosphere”. 

Huntingdonshire District Council has agreed a new licence for the bar allowing it to open from 12pm to 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and from 12pm to 11.30pm on Fridays and Saturdays. 

The bar also has permission to play live and recorded music indoors and in the outside area until 11pm. 

At a licensing sub-committee meeting this week (March 13), Mr Ricciardi said he wanted to offer people in Yaxley a nice replacement for the former Lancaster Club. 

He said: “I like a nice glass of wine and a nice cocktail and I thought a nice cocktail, wine and jazz bar would be quite nice in Yaxley and for the residents of Yaxley. 

“We have renovated the building since 2021, the builders are local, the majority are from Yaxley. 

“The people I have employed for the bar already were all out of work, so I have got five new staff starting hopefully, they all live in Yaxley. 

“The environment we are trying to get is really just laid back, no loud music, we have put sound proof glass in the front windows, insulation as well all around the perimeter so there is no noise going outside.” 

Mr Ricciardi said he was also proposing to have the smoking area out the back of the bar, to avoid people congregating on the pathway, and said he was arranged with taxi companies to collect people from the back of the building. 

He said: “We are trying to cover as many things as possible because we do not want to have any complications or trouble. The clientele we are trying to attract are the older clientele. We have done a lovely internal decor, very high end, and the drinks we will be doing are higher end.” 

However, some neighbours still raised concerns about the plans for the new bar. 

Desmond Watt said he had concerns about the increase in noise from the building, and said the plans to have music played was “ringing alarm bells” for him. 

He said Yaxley was a “sleepy old village” and argued the proposed bar would be better suited to a city centre or a commercial area where there are fewer people living nearby. 

The sub-committee ultimately decided to grant the licence for the new bar. 

In the decision notice published by the district council the councillors highlighted that no concerns had been raised by environmental health officers, and that the owner had agreed additional conditions with the police. 

They also recognised the steps taken by the owner to reduce noise from the building, including the installation of soundproof windows.