A CITY centre pub has been allowed to extend its opening hours at the weekend despite concerns over noise.

The Arch Rivals Pub has been given permission to open until 12.30am on Friday and Saturday night and an 8pm restriction on sitting outside has also been removed.

Mike Davis, owner of Arch Rivals, said he had run the pub in a “controlled and professional manner” since opening a year ago.

He said: “We have been as courteous to our neighbours as we can be and we have always considered them throughout the last 12 months.

He said Friday and Saturday night was the pub’s busiest nights and wanted to give drinkers the chance to finish their drinks – or buy another - without having to user them out quickly at 11pm.

“The additional hour is to just cover us if we do have a busy night – as we sometimes do,” he told Worcester City Council’s licensing subcommittee on Friday (September 27).

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Mr Davis said the removal of the restrictions on sitting outside after 8pm was also to cover the micropub if he – as the sole member of the staff – forgot to take in the tables and chairs on time or if somebody decided to sit outside.

Mr Davis said: “I’m not planning on leaving the tables and chairs outside all night, every night. It’s just there for protection.”

Mr Davis said he had received nine messages and two formal complaints about noise in the last 12 months.

Objector Rachael Elmes said she had no objections to music coming from the pub but had issues with people talking outside. She said found the constant background noise “very invasive” and was concerned she would be facing 12 hours of noise on a Saturday.

She said: “When that sliding door is fully open, even if there are only two people in the establishment and they are standing right at the back by the bar, if I’m in my bedroom I can hear low rumblings of noises, I can hear them talking.

“As more people join in and more people go into the pub, that level of noise can get quite high.”

She said the restrictions on sitting outside did not need to be put in place as the level of noise inside with the doors open was the same as people sitting outside.

The new licence allows the pub, in Netherton Court in Worcester, to open from 11am until 12.30am on Friday and Saturday and 11am to 11pm on Sunday to Thursday.