A NEW Bridport late night venue has been granted a licence which will allow opening on two nights a week until 2am.

Some neighbours of the Bridport Dagger in East Street had objected to any longer hours with concerns initially raised by the Town Council, but later dropped after talking to the applicant.

Conditions of the new Premises Licence include under 18s having to leave by 10pm and sound proofing for windows and doors when music is played.

On Friday and Saturday, when the venue can be open until 2am, a minimum of two registered door staff will have to be on duty from 10pm until the premises are cleared, with the business also having a closed circuit TV system which will also cover the rear doors in addition to the main bar area.

On Monday to Thursday the bar will have to stop serving at midnight and on Sundays at 11pm, although there will be a 4am exception for New Year’s Eve and until 2am for May and August bank holidays.

Dorset councillors, who decided on the application, have also asked for a Noise Management Plan for the premises, to be in place before it opens, with noise monitoring every hour from 9pm – with a direct telephone line for the duty manager to be made available to the public in the event of problems.

Although the business now has a Premises Licence in place to cover alcohol sales and entertainment the licensing panel heard that the business has yet to achieve planning consent, which could impose shorter hours than the Premises Licence allows.

That application has received several objections and, having not yet been decided, remains open for public comments on the proposal for a change of use at the premises.

Six people had objected to the licence application, most claiming that the area, which has residential properties, is unsuitable for a late-night licence with several asking for the hours not to go beyond 11pm or midnight.

Mr Craig Horton, who currently runs No10 in Bridport and plans to move to the new venue, said the former bank building had thick walls which would help with sound levels but said that if noise was getting out of the building he would add additional sound proofing.

Councillors were told that The Bridport Dagger was intended to be a venue where younger people could go later in the evening, but would not be a nightclub playing loud music into the small hours.

Resident Mr Sam Wilberforce, whose property back on to the former HSBC bank, told councillors that he remained concerned about noise coming from the rear of the building, accepting that one late night each week would be tolerable, but two nights until 2am might be too much for residents.

Dorset Police had raised no concerns about the application and had not requested a reduction in the hours applied for.