Bar faces trial period over extended opening hours after neighbours in Bamber Bridge complain

The Lancs and Yorks in Station Road looked set to be refused permission after applying to shut as late as 1:30am on four nights a week.

But, following talks with planning officers, the bar has scaled back its request to 1am closing on just Friday and Saturday nights.

Now South Ribble planning committee will be urged to give the go-ahead when the matter comes up on Thursday, but only for a 12-month trial period.

Environmental health officers have warned councillors that the extra hour - the bar currently closes at midnight - has the "potential" to adversely affect neighbours with late night noise.

So they have asked for the temporary extension "to assess whether this leads to any problems and complaints."

Locals living near the bar - in the premises of the old Lancs and Yorks pub which closed in 2013 after 160 years of pulling pints - have raised objections ever since the building was earmarked to reopen as a drinking establishment last year.

They argued the previous pub was a "living hell" with noise, drunken chants, litter and people urinating at the rear of their homes.

The new bar was given the go-ahead to open in June 2021, but only up to midnight every night.

In July this year an application to extend those opening hours until 12:20am on Monday to Wednesday and up to 1:30am for the rest of the week was submitted, but looked set to be refused.

Further talks with the planning department brought a compromise - 1:00am on Friday and Saturday - and that is expected to be granted for a year's trial at Thursday's committee meeting.

Councillors will be told that locals are already upset by the noise coming from the bar, even with a midnight closure.

"Neighbouring residents have objected, amongst other things, to excessive noise and disturbance presently being experienced from the premises," says a report to the committee.

"Excessive noise currently is causing disturbance and nuisance from loud thumping DJ music with heavy bass."

Residents claimed that there was noise from customers outside the bar until late at night and they were using "the ginnel at the back of our houses as a toilet."

Other complaints included "music getting louder" and the "disturbance is having a negative impact with regards to adequate sleep and privacy being maintained."

Since the application was amended the bar had forwarded four letters to the committee in support from neighbouring residents/businesses.

One said: "Never had any noise complaints or problems with the running of (the) business."

Another wrote: "Opening on Friday and Saturdays until 1am wouldn’t have a negative impact on my business."

And others said they had no complaints about noise, litter or drunken behaviour and staff were "very pleasant who run a very clean and organisation."

The Lancs and Yorks, named after the railway company which owned the railway line adjacent to it, was first opened as a hotel in the 1850s.