A DECISION to allow a South Lakeland bar to extend the number of hours it can serve alcohol has angered local residents, who fear late night chaos on the village's streets Tweedies Bar, at the Dale Lodge Hotel, Grasmere, has been granted permission to open until 1am every night and serve alcohol until midnight, in a U-turn by South Lakeland District Council.

The bar's owners, Brian Roberts and James HeatonGoodall, initially applied in July to open until 1am under new licensing legislation.

The application sparked 24 objections from members of the public and the committee at the July meeting limited the number of times Tweedies could open beyond 1am to a maximum of 20 a year. Door staff also had to be on duty each time the bar opened after midnight.

But on Monday, councillors reversed their decision and allowed the bar to open its doors until 1am every night. It also did not have to employ a door supervisor.

Speaking on behalf of the applicants, David Collinson said that Tweedies Bar had been one of the first establishments in South Lakeland to apply for a new licence under the new laws.

He said that since the decision had been made, other Grasmere pubs had been allowed to open until 1am and were not required to employ door staff.

"The applicants only ask what is fair for other pubs in the area. In essence, we want an extra hour and you to take away these restrictive conditions," he told the members.

He added any late night noise could not be linked to the bar and that the owners had never been reported to the police or to the council's environmental protection unit.

The Grasmere residents who attended the meeting stressed that they had "nothing against" the owners of Tweedies. But they objected to the application, saying that the extra hours would cause late night rowdiness.

Whitney Formby, of Easedale Road, said that boisterous crowds of young people returning to the nearby youth hostels already woke her up at night.

She said she believed that the groups had been drinking at Tweedies although she could not specifically link them with the bar.

Lakes parish councillor Vivienne Rees said that the meeting did not properly reflect the views of the community, as many people were unable to attend because of work and business commitments.

The committee made its decision, "noting" that the original licence "was one of the first" applications to be granted by the council and, with the passing of time, granting the new application was now "reasonable."

l In a separate application, a Grasmere restaurant will be allowed to sell alcohol to drinkers who do not want to eat a meal after councillors decided to grant the venue a new licence, despite local opposition.

Williams of Grasmere, on Stock Lane in the village, has been granted a premises licence which means that the sale of alcohol at the restaurant will no longer be restricted to people who order a meal.

South Lakeland District Council's licensing committee had received several objections to the new licence from local residents who feared that the sight of drinkers on the pavement outside the restaurant would be detrimental to the character of the village and would set a bad example to children at the nearby school.