An establishment in Crowborough has applied to extend its trading hours for two upcoming World Cup fixtures, with a verdict due from Wealden councillors this week.

A licensing panel under Wealden District Council will examine requests for temporary hour extensions at The White Hart on the Green on Church Road for two particular dates.

The venue has filed Temporary Event Notices seeking approval to stay open until 4am on July 3 and until 5am on July 6. These dates correspond to World Cup games potentially featuring England.

The council’s Environmental Health team has lodged objections concerning possible disturbance to local inhabitants.

In their formal response to the applications, an Environmental Health official said the venue is situated within a residential area. Allowing the premises to carry out licensable activities during early morning hours on a weekday, as specified in the Temporary Event Notice, would be expected to disturb local residents who would normally be asleep.

The objection points out that national licensing regulations have been relaxed, enabling greater screening options for pubs showing England and Scotland matches.

Current government guidance allows venues to remain open until 1am for matches beginning between 5pm and 9pm. For games with kick-off times between 9pm and 10pm, extended opening until 2am is permitted. However, these relaxed regulations would not cover the two time slots in the current applications.

The July 3 fixture is due to start at midnight. Should England finish as runners-up in Group L, possible opponents include Portugal, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uzbekistan, or Colombia.

The July 6 game would also kick off at midnight. For England to take part, they would need to finish top of their group by beating Croatia, Ghana, and Panama, then win their first knockout match on July 1.

The July 1 fixture begins at 5pm UK time and therefore does not require extended hours. This match would involve the Group L winners against a third-placed team from another group.

Council documents show The White Hart on the Green has submitted a further Temporary Event Notice for extended hours during the England against Panama match on Saturday, June 27, with a 10pm kick-off, against which Environmental Health has raised no objections.

As no objection has been submitted, this specific notice will not be considered by the licensing panel.