Boodle Beasley owner says he is being made a scapegoat for North Hobart’s parking issues

A North Hobart bar has been forced to shut down its beer garden because the council says it does not have the correct permits.

Jane and Phil Zakaria, with Boodle Beasley’s Chris Cooper. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

A NORTH Hobart bar has been forced to shut down its beer garden because the council says it does not have the correct permits.

A Hobart City Council investigation found the owners of the Boodle Beasley’s beer garden had carried out building works without a building permit or valid authorisation, and the rear of the property was being used for food service purposes without a permit.

The council’s general manager Nick Heath said they had been working with the operator to rectify the issue for several months, but there had been significant delays from the operator responding to council requests.

“Given the parking issues that have been raised in North Hobart, we would expect the operator to discuss with council any attempt to change the use of the parking spots currently behind the business,” he said.

But the owner of Boodle Beasley, Chris Cooper, has fired back saying it didn’t make sense that the front half of the block was OK to use for food services but the rear half was not.

“We’re happy to cop our error on the chin — we make and sell great beer, but we obviously aren’t experts in council planning regulations,” he said.

“It’s extremely disappointing that we are falsely being used as a scapegoat by some for the parking issues in North Hobart.

“It is absolutely wrong to suggest that Boodle Beasley has closed a public car park.

“The space behind Boodle Beasley is leased by us as tenants and is zoned inner residential.

“It was not a public car park when we took over the lease.”

Boodle Beasley opened in July, and in August a council compliance officer visited the site after a complaint.

In October, the council issued Boodle Beasley with a building notice and an enforcement notice as to why it should be able to continue operating its beer garden without the correct permit.

In December, council issued an enforcement notice requiring Boodle Beasley to stop using the beer garden.

Mr Cooper said he had been overwhelmed with support from customers.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds empathised with their plight, writing on Boodle Beasley’s Facebook page: “How frustrating. Please get in touch if I can assist.”

Mr Cooper said he was preparing a development application for the outside area.