In plans that have been called “inappropriate” by Cambridge’s river manager, Cambridge City Council’s licensing sub-committee yesterday approved plans that will see alcohol ‘return’ to the Backs.

From next summer, punters will be able to enjoy a drink purchased from a floating bar open 10am to 7pm on the Backs, while they take in the view of King’s and John’s from the river.

Stevenson’s Floating River Bar had previously operated on the river in 2014, based out of a punt moored opposite Magdalene College, but Sarah Stevenson – who sold the punt last summer – had applied to have the licence reviewed in the hope of reviving the floating bar.

The licencing sub-committee’s go-ahead was given despite the punt formerly owned by Stevenson – repurposed for river tours – having been involved in a number of incidents on the river, including a collision which crushed a man’s hand.

Cam Conservators’ river manager Jed Ramsay raised concerns about the appropriateness of allowing a floating bar to operate on a section of the river that already sees high levels of traffic.

“In the summer weeks when there are around 250 punts on the Backs, to have one of them as a floating bar, which tends to mill around the busiest areas, is not conducive to keeping traffic moving,” he said.

Stevenson, however, insisted that the enterprise had been run professionally during its 2014 outing and hoped all concerned parties could “work together to give the public this memorable experience of the River Cam together, safely and professionally.”

Although the question of whether a pint-dispensing punt would be conducive to an experience tourists would remember was not addressed, the bar was eventually given the green light following an epic two hour-long debate.

Under the conditions of the renewed licence, Stevenson will need to ensure the punt is clearly distinguishable from other punts, that it is marked with its registration details and that it is manned by staff trained in first aid.

Sub-committee chairman Jeremy Benstead commented that their “licensing skills” had been “tested”, and that "the number of punts on the river is a matter for the Cam Conservators to consider, not for this sub-committee."