THE late night entertainment licence at The Crown public house and nightclub in New Park Street, Devizes, has been renewed, despite strenuous objection from neighbours.

Members of the Kennet licensing sub committee voted unanimously on Wednesday to permit the renewal of the entertainment licence.

The Rotherstone Neighbourhood Watch group opposed the application by licensee Jim Lynch.

He requested renewal of the pub's existing entertainment licence that allows music and dancing until 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and music only until 10.30pm on Sundays.

Coun Noel Woolrych appeared to object on behalf of Devizes Town Council and said the basic complaint was that sounds from the pub kept people in the Rotherstone area, and visiting boaters on the canal, awake until the early hours.

Coun Woolrych said: "Working people have problems getting to sleep and have to get up for work on Friday mornings."

He said the particular concern of neighbours across the Kennet and Avon Canal from the pub was the entertainment continuing until 2am on Friday mornings.

Coun Woodrych said: "Friday and Saturday nights are not a problem. It's Thursday nights going through to two o'clock the following morning when people have to go to work."

Devizes, said Coun Woolrych, was a tourist area with a lot of canal boat traffic in the summer months. He said: "We do not want to drive them away because of this problem."

Solicitor Tim Davies, representing the pub and Wadworth brewery, said the licensing committee had granted the extensions at what he described as a contested hearing in May last year.

Mr Davies said the late night entertainment licence was granted subject to strict conditions that the pub, he said, had adhered to.

Fire doors at the rear of the building had been acoustically treated and a new noise limiter fitted to the pub amplifiers. Since that work was finished on December 22 there had been no complaints about noise leakage upsetting residents.

Mr Davies said: "It is important that there have been no complaints to Kennet officers since the end of December when the new noise limiter was installed."

The licensing committee was presented with a dossier of complaints from the Rotherstone Neighbourhood Watch group. Councillors commented on the fact that none of the residents was present at the meeting.

An unsigned letter submitted by the group representing residents of 37-51 Rotherstone claimed: "Once again we have to object as this problem has still not been satisfactorily resolved for the residents."

It went on to say: "The residents are objecting to the renewal of the entertainment licence as the conditions set down by the licensing sub committee have failed to reduce the noise disturbance for residents."

The letter said: "The residents have continued to complain through the year. There have been periods when the environmental department has not received any complaints from the residents for several months.

"This was due to the residents being sympathetic to Mr Lynch and allowing him extra time to carry out the required work.

"We feel there is still a long way to go before this is resolved even with the extra noise limiter that's due to be installed, it will not resolve the residents' disturbed nights."

Environmental health officer John Night confirmed to the meeting that there had been no complaints at all since December

Mr Lynch told the committee that he frequently walked around to Rotherstone while entertainment was taking place in the pub to see if there was any noise nuisance.