A COMPROMISE has been reached following objections to a music venue's bid for later opening hours.

Operators of the Fish Tank, in Neville Street, Durham, were refused an extension to its public entertainment licence by the city council in January.

Following opposition from residents and the police over late night noise from the venue, the council's licensing committee rejected the bid to extend the licence from midnight to 2am.

Licensee Sharan Kaur Sandhu appealed against that decision to the city's magistrates, although she restricted the time limit being sought to 1am.

She told the magistrates yesterday of the efforts taken to limit noise from the first floor, 50-capacity premises, above a fish and chip shop.

Measures included introducing air conditioning so there would be no need to open windows, adding shutters to the four double-glazed windows, with noise buffers and limiters also installed.

She said live music ended at 10.30pm, and staff were not permitted to play pre-recorded music while clearing up after closing time.

Mrs Kaur, of Fish Tank owners Eastwood Fisheries Limited, said: "We are a specialised, niche venue, appealing to students and societies, with live bands who attract a following, from maybe London or Birmingham."

Neville Street resident Brendan McKeon said noise generated by the premises was above World Health Organisation recommended levels and "reverberated" late at night.

He said he believed the council's environmental health officers had not done enough to monitor and restrict noise levels from the Fish Tank. He said many nearby student residents were moving out because of the noise.

But the magistrates agreed to allow the public entertainment licence extension to 1am, restricted to Friday and Saturday nights only.