A BALLOCH pub’s bid to be allowed to have a licensed outdoor seating area on the pavement outside the premises has been rejected.

The owners of The Doghouse on Balloch Road had asked the West Dunbartonshire licensing board for permission to put tables and chairs on the public footpaths on Dalvait Road and Balloch Road, on either side of the pub’s main entrance.

But the board refused the application at a meeting on June 30.

Health officials from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde had objected to the application, stating that the pub is in a “designated area of over-provision” for alcohol sales, and voicing concern about the effect outdoor drinking might have on children using the play area which is located opposite the pub.

Police Scotland and Balloch and Haldane Community Council also lodged objections, raising concern that the proposed seating area might not leave enough room for pedestrians to pass by on the pavement.

Police Scotland’s divisional commander, Chief Superintendent John Paterson, told the board he believed the plan would be “inconsistent with the licensing objectives [of] securing public safety [and] preventing public nuisance”.