City centre to get late-night Greggs
- Newcastle City Council dropped objections, backing Greggs' bid for a 5am late-night licence in the city centre. - The proposal would allow another Greggs branch to serve customers until 5am, extending nighttime food options. - Council and Northumbria Police withdrew objections before a licensing hearing, easing approval chances (chroniclelive.co.uk).
A third Greggs in central Newcastle has been cleared to sell hot food until 5am after council officials and Northumbria Police dropped their objections. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The application covers Greggs’ new branch at Pilgrim’s Quarter, on the corner of Pilgrim Street and Market Street. The site opened in February 2026 and now trades until 8pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm on Sundays. (uk.news.yahoo.com) Newcastle upon Tyne City Council’s Licensing Sub-Committee heard the case on April 15, 2026, and Greggs’ barrister later said the licence was granted in full, subject to conditions. Kings Chambers said the permission covers late-night refreshment at the Pilgrim Quarter site inside the city’s Cumulative Impact Zone. (kingschambers.com) Under the Licensing Act 2003, businesses need a premises licence to supply hot food or drink between 11pm and 5am. Newcastle City Council’s current licensing policy took effect on November 1, 2023 and runs until 2028. (newcastle.gov.uk, newcastle.gov.uk) Pilgrim’s Quarter sits in a part of the city where late-night applications face extra scrutiny because of cumulative impact rules. Greggs’ representative said the company’s earlier late licences in Newcastle had operated successfully under conditions set by the council. (kingschambers.com, uk.news.yahoo.com) Before the hearing, the council’s licensing department, public health director Alice Wiseman and Northumbria Police had all objected. Jonathan Bryce, the council’s licensing chief, then wrote that he was “minded to reconsider” and was satisfied the application was unlikely to have an adverse impact. (uk.news.yahoo.com) Police had argued that late-night takeaways can become flashpoints when intoxicated people leave nearby venues and gather outside. Wiseman had warned that longer hours could encourage more “empty calorie” food purchases by shift workers. (uk.news.yahoo.com) One objection remained at the hearing from Monument ward councillor Jane Byrne, who said the plan responded to rising late-night crime and disorder rather than preventing it. Greggs’ lawyer said the Pilgrim’s Quarter branch had a “clean bill of health” since opening and described a “unique partnership” with the council. (uk.news.yahoo.com) The Pilgrim’s Quarter decision follows a 2025 ruling that let Greggs branches on Neville Street and Grainger Street trade through the night. Those earlier approvals turned two of the chain’s best-known city-centre shops into 24-hour sites. (uk.news.yahoo.com, chroniclelive.co.uk) With the Pilgrim’s Quarter licence approved, Greggs now has another foothold in Newcastle’s after-midnight food trade. The latest decision leaves the chain with three city-centre branches holding late-night permissions. (kingschambers.com, uk.news.yahoo.com)
