A cafe on Haverfordwest’s Castle Square will be able to open until 4am, after an extension to its opening hours was granted by Pembrokeshire County Council’s licensing sub-committee.

Dorothy’s Salad and Sandwich Bar, located at 2 Castle Square, applied to provide late night refreshments from11pm to 4am on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as well as on the New Year holiday.

Owner Murat Ipek told the sub-committee that the business would not be able to survive unless it opened in the evenings to serve take away food to the town’s revellers.

“As a coffee shop and a sandwich shop it’s impossible we can survive,” he said. “Rent and rate is so high. This is our only chance to survive if we get the extension.”

Councillors heard that the cafe had opened until the early hours in November and December using temporary event notices and that during this time no negative effects had been reported.

Neighbouring take away owner, Martin Jones, said that crowds congregating on the square to eat after a night out would create a public order problem, currently avoided because the crowds sub divide to go to different take aways.

“CCTV and doormen on the premises does not stop disorder outside the premises,” he said. “It does not stop urination, defecation and vomiting in the door ways of other premises. This will place massive demands on the police.

“We have been trading just off the square for 20 odd years,” he said. “I speak from experience.

Dyfed-Powys Police offered no objections to the application but highlighted it was within the Cumulative Impact Area of the town which is extremely busy at night and into the early hours.

The committee heard that the Mr Ipek had worked with the police on the recommended conditions of the extension to the licence. These included the use of CCTV and registered door staff on duty from midnight until 4.30am.

After brief consideration councillors approved the licence extension saying that it met all the relevant licensing objectives.