A LEISURE company has renewed its bid for a late-night licence for York's Barbican Centre.

Prospective centre operator Absolute Leisure has applied to City of York Council for permission to keep the centre open seven days a week until 2.30 am, and to sell drinks until 2am.

The company had previously mounted two separate attempts to get a late licence from York Magistrates, but both hearings - which had been set to hear protests from local residents worried about late-night noise and disturbance - were abandoned.

Last November, a three-day hearing was halted because legal notices had not been posted properly. Last month, Absolute Leisure withdrew its application at the 11th hour because of uncertainty created by a possible judicial review of the council's decision to grant planning permission for the centre's redevelopment.

Objectors today vowed to lodge strong protests against the new application, but said they feared the council had too great a vested interest in the sell-off of the Barbican Centre to Absolute Leisure to deal with it impartially.

Ernie Dickinson, spokesman for Save Our Barbican campaign (SOB), urged anyone objecting to write to the council before the May 27 deadline, adding: "We are going to have legal representation at the committee."

He said licensing officers had been extremely helpful and assured him the licensing committee would be impartial. But he still feared that the trio of councillors would feel under pressure from the council's ruling executive, which had been pushing for the late licence. "We fear there's too much at stake," said Mr Dickinson.

He said he was concerned that of the trio, two would be from the council's ruling Liberal Democrat party.

The council today insisted the licensing committee included cross-party representation and would be impartial.

A spokeswoman said: "They will view applications in an impartial manner."

She said that as part of the process to ensure impartiality, members were not able to consider applications within their own ward.

Under nationally laid-down rules, any objections to the licence must concern the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, the prevention of public nuisance or the protection of children from harm.

Absolute Leisure's application to the council also seeks permission for activities including plays, films, indoor sporting events, boxing or wrestling, live music, recorded music and dance performances.

Updated: 08:38 Thursday, May 19, 2005