2:36am Sunday 12th March 2006
By Sara Dixon
AFTER being told before Christmas that they could not play music until midnight on Friday and Saturday the management of a South Woodford pub have re-applied for even later hours.
In December managers at the Napier Arms, Woodford New Road, put an application to Redbrige Council to open until midnight on Friday and Saturday, serving alcohol and playing music.
But they were told they could only serve serve alcohol up until midnight and the music must stop at 11pm.
Now the new management want to open until 2am on Saturday and Sunday morning, until 12.30am on week days, and until 10.30pm on Sunday evening.
And residents, who say they are already disturbed by late-night revellers leaving the premises, have vowed to fight the new application.
Pam Thompson, whose house backs on to the pub's car park, says the noise is so bad her grandchildren cannot sleep in the back bedrooms.
She said: "I can't have my grandchildren to stay, it is so noisy at night. It means the children, aged seven and three, can't get to sleep until the early hours of the morning.
"We've lived in the same house for 30 years. When we first moved here the Napier Arms was a quiet local, now they want to play music all the time.
"They are intent on turning it into a late night venue and we don't think it is suitable for the area."
But the new management say they are just trying to run a business and must compete with other pubs in the area which stay open until 1am.
Sonny Hong said: "We will apply for the late licence until we get it. We need it to compete with other pubs in the area but we want to work with locals, we have already fitted a noise limiter, make people wait for cabs in the pub and not outside and do our very best to keep the noise down."
The hearing will take place on Monday April 10, at 7pm in committee room two in Redbridge Town Hall.
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