New Cambridge café and bar applies to serve alcohol and play live music

A new Cambridge café and bar has applied for a premises licence to sell alcohol and play live music at its venue. OtherSyde, which closed in September 2022, is due to reopen as The Alcademy in the former HSBC bank on Chesterton Road later this year.

The venue will provide customers with a combination of a café and bar on the ground floor as well as a cocktail bar in the basement. It is hoped that there would also be small music events and film screenings.

The venue is hoping to sell alcohol from 11am to 11pm and play live music from 12pm to 11pm. Plays and films are also scheduled from 8am to 11pm, with an earlier finish time of 10.30pm on Sundays.

Read more: Thousands of illegal vapes and cigarettes seized from two Cambridgeshire shops

Read more: Plans for Cambridgeshire 24-hour 'adult gaming centre' spark antisocial behaviour concerns

A statement from the application said: "The Alcademy is a project that is being developed by OtherSyde Ltd. OtherSyde Ltd was formerly based at the Engineer's House at the Museum of Technology where the company restored the Engineer's House and grounds and transformed the site into a thriving and popular destination in the City.

"The café/bar will be open in the mornings for non-alcoholic beverages, coffee, tea, sandwiches, cakes etc. From 11am until 11pm the café/bar will be serving alcoholic drinks as well as non-alcoholic beverages. During the day, the basement space will be used for small-scale community activities such as yoga and drawing classes.

"In the evenings, the basement space will be used as a cocktail bar and as a hireable space for talks, presentations and for various arts activities such as poetry readings and exhibitions, as well as DJ and comedy nights. In putting this application together we have taken pre-application advice from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the Environmental Health Agency.

"Considering the location of the premises within one of the City's designated Cumulative Impact Areas, the business owners are dedicated to ensuring that their operations will contribute positively to the neighbourhood and enhance the well-being of its residents.

"The premises are located on the edge of the De Freville Conservation Area, and are within the Mitcham’s Corner Development Framework area. The premises are on two floors, ground floor and basement, and comprise the two retail units mentioned below, that have now been merged into a single unit."

A decision on the application will be made by Cambridge City Council at a later date. To view the plans in full, visit their website here.

Do you want more of the latest Cambridgeshire news as it comes in? Sign up to our dedicated newsletter to make sure you never miss a big story from Cambridge or anywhere else in the county. You can also sign up to our dedicated Peterborough, Traffic and Crime newsletters for the latest updates on the topics you are most interested in.