A PUB chain has moved to reassure residents about plans to extend drinking hours at a city centre bar, saying it operates "the safest venues on the high street".

Regent Inns has asked Durham City Council for permission to keep its Walkabout pub, in North Road, Durham, open on Sunday nights until 2.30am on Monday.

Last orders at the Australiantheme bar, which occupies the former Robins Cinema building, would be at 2am.

Currently, the pub must close at 12.30am on Mondays, and 2am every other day.

The company has made several attempts to extend the bar's opening hours since it opened in July 2003, finding opposition from residents, the City of Durham Trust and the police.

However, Matt de Leon, a spokesman for Regent Inns, said the company, which runs 50 Walkabout pubs across the country, is a responsible retailer.

He said: "We have applied to extend our trading hours by 90 minutes on a Sunday night, to ensure we are on a par with our competitors who are currently open later than we are.

"We would like to reassure residents that Walkabout is a responsible pub operator, and has become famous for running the most responsible and safest venues on the high street.

"We take customer safety and local residents' welfare very seriously, and work extremely hard at all our venues to ensure Walkabout provides an exciting, but safe, night out for customers, and contributes positively to the local community."

In August 2005, Regent Inns withdrew a bid to keep Walkabout open until 2.30am Monday to Saturday and 3.30am on Sundays before bank holidays, after residents claimed it would increase noise, nuisance and antisocial behaviour.

One resident, who asked not to be named, said yesterday: "We don't want more late-night drinking.

They don't need to be open until 2.30am."

Durham Police has not yet decided whether to oppose the application.

A police spokesman said: "We have yet to carry out an assessment of what is being planned, but we plan to do so in the near future."

Residents and interested groups have until Tuesday, June 19, to comment on Regent Inns' application.

To comment, write to: Licensing Section, Durham City Council, Byland Lodge, Hawthorn Terrace, Durham.