GAZETTE & HERALD: Councillors fear residents may be disturbed after The White Hart Hotel was granted an extended public entertainment licence, allowing it to open until 1am.

The pub in London Road, Calne, is now open to 1am on Friday and Saturday nights. Music is allowed to be played until this time but the landlord must get a separate licence from magistrates to serve alcohol past 11pm.

Calne Town Council objected to the extended licence because it feared it would create problems for residents. But the licence was granted by North Wiltshire District Council.

Deputy town mayor Cathy Bowyer said the licence should not have been granted to a pub in a residential area.

"The council were strongly opposed to it because of the location," she said. "The residents are going to get the noise of people leaving at 1am. It is not fair to the residents. We are currently consulting those who live in the area."

She said another problem was the licence would mean people would be drinking for longer making it more hazardous when they left the pub.

"It is an accident waiting to happen," she said. "There are lots of steps coming out of the building."

A spokesman for the district council said the objection raised by the town council was about its concerns over the sale of alcohol late at night, rather than the public entertainment.

"They were advised to raise those concerns with the licensing magistrates," he said. "We have had no recent history of complaints relating to public entertainment from these premises and no reason not to issue the licence."