THE Bishop Lacey Inn in Chudleigh has been granted a public entertainments licence until 1am for Friday and Saturday nights.

The application, submitted by licensees Robin and Wendy Bishop, was heard by Teignbridge License and Appeals Committee at Forde House.

A number of conditions to the license were stipulated by the police, represented at the meeting by licensing officer Pc Keith James and Insp Helen Creedy. The three main observations were that no entry should be allowed after 11pm; CCTV should be installed and maintained, to cover the area; and there should be a minimum of two door staff (amounting to a ratio to customers of 1:75).

Representing Mr and Mrs Bishop, Chris Seamark, legal clerk with Cross and Cross solicitors, of Exeter, said that the licence would effectively make the pub a 'mini-club' on Fridays and Saturdays.

A number of letters of support from Chudleigh residents were attached to the agenda, most saying that a 1am licence would mean they could stay in the town rather than have to travel to Torquay or Newton Abbot for late night entertainment. The Chudleigh Town Council said it had no objections, but would support a trial period with the new hours.

Mr Seamark told the committee that his clients had been licensees at the Bishop Lacey for seven years, with no real problems. Mr and Mrs Bishop would, he said, limit the number of people allowed into the function room to 150. This figure will be controlled with a clicker system and wristbands and doorstaff would be entered on the training scheme in Plymouth.

The committee heard that CCTV featured in the building plans, which also covered the fire and safety regulations.

The issue of noise affecting residents of Chudleigh, was the subject of the only formal written complaint from residents and Insp Creedy also voiced her concerns.

'Even if people are just talking at a normal volume, at that time of night the noise is amplified,' she said, 'and there is quite a difference between noise at midnight and noise at 1am.'

This was addressed by Mr Seamark, who told the committee that Mr and Mrs Bishop were in the process of purchasing the properties adjacent to the Bishop Lacey Inn. He also said that signs urging customers to leave the premises quietly would be placed by the doors, and that customers would be made aware that if they made too much noise, the licence could be withdrawn at its next hearing.

Pc Keith James commented that to cover the pub staying open until 1am would require an extra seven officers; a stretch for an division already under staffing pressures. Additional difficulties would be caused by the fact that shifts change at midnight and Pc James warned that response time would be likely to suffer as a result.

Mr Seamark stressed throughout proceedings that the necessary building work to make the function room suitable for a public entertainments licence would not be completed until December. As the application was received in March the pub would therefore have a 'trial' period of no more than four months, before the matter reappeared in front of the committee.

Cllr Dick Petherick said the fact that the police had problems in terms of staff shortages, unfortunate as it was, should not affect the decision as to whether or not a licence was granted.

The Bishop Lacey received a provisional licence and will have to satisfy all health and safety criteria before it can operate until 1am.