A PUB chain trying to open an Australian-themed nightspot in Durham will have to restart its bid for licences next year.

Licensing justices in the city decided yesterday that there was not enough time to hear Regent Inns' applications for a drinks licence and a special hours certificate.

The application will be heard by the all-North Durham licensing panel at Consett Magistrates' Court in February, when more than a week has been set aside for the case.

Regent Inns, which wants to turn the Robins Cinema, in North Road, into a Walkabout venue, lodged its application earlier this year.

But it had to wait several months before four days could be pencilled in to hear the application and objections from the police, residents, the City of Durham Trust and a former nightclub owner.

But yesterday, on the third day of the hearing, the justices decided the hearing could not be completed by the end of today.

Objectors said the venue, which would open until 1am except on Sundays, would add to Durham's increasing late-night disorder problem and stretch police resources.

The firm, which already has planning permission and a public entertainment licence, says it should not be penalised for problems that already exist in the city.

It says its nightspots are well run and that in some places it has been praised for its high standards.

However, the hearing was told police in some parts of the country had concerns about their local Walkabouts.