A CONTROVERSIAL bar has become the latest nightspot to call time on city centre drinkers.

Walkabout – an Australianthemed pub – opened in a former cinema building in Durham City five years ago.

Housed in what was the Robins Cinema, in North Road, it has been shut for more than a week and its entrance has been boarded up.

It is the latest venue to close in what, until a few years ago, was the hub of the city’s nightlife and a hotspot for late-night trouble.

The nearby Bar 19 – formerly The Neville and The Saddlemarket – has been closed for several months and The Coach and Eight, next to Framwelgate Bridge, closed last year, having been a popular venue on the city’s drinking circuit.

The opening of the city’s Walkergate complex in Claypath two years ago, which features several bars, combined with the effects of the recession, is taking a toll in North Road, which also has several empty shops.

Nationally, the British Pub and Beer Association says 39 pubs are closing every week and beer sales are falling.

Walkabout proved popular in the early days with its mix of screened TV sport, antipodean food and live music, but in recent months had been closing early on some weekday nights.

Operator Regent Inns spent more than £2m on the building, which it leased.

There was an outcry when the cinema shut and also opposition from residents and the City of Durham Trust to the opening of the 700-capacity bar, which stayed open until 1am.

Amid fears of an increase in trouble in North Road, it was refused a licence by magistrates, but the firm won its appeal against the decision, Judge Beatrice Bolton saying at Durham Crown Court she believed the venue’s presence could encourage other nightspot owners to improve their businesses. She also accused some objectors of showing a “degree of snobbery’’ towards drinkers.

The firm paid for a latenight bus service and a urinal that rose out of the ground to show its commitment to being a good neighbour.

A spokeswoman for the company said in a brief statement: “Following an extensive review of its property portfolio, Regent Inns can confirm that we have closed the Walkabout bar in Durham.

“The venue closed Saturday, May 2, 2009. This decision is in line with the board’s stated intent of reducing debt and operating costs.’’