THE new operators of York's Barbican Centre are planning to stage concerts and performances again, after winning a late licence.

Absolute Leisure was given the go-ahead yesterday to sell alcohol in the existing premises until 2am, despite protests from 24 local residents worried about noise and disorder in the early hours.

Managing director Tony Knox said it now wanted to start staging live performances and concerts in the auditorium and also host conferences - but not stage nightclub or rave activities as feared by some residents- until the company was ready to begin the refurbishment and the construction of new bars and restaurants. He revealed that a provisional booking has already been made for a wedding fair in March.

Mr Knox said it was still hoped that the revamp could be carried out and completed in time for the next UK Snooker Tournament in late autumn, but the fallback position was to delay the work until after the snooker had finished.

Residents told City of York Council's licensing committee of their fears if the application was granted.

Maria Dodd and Patricia Blanchard said they already suffered from increasing problems of raucous shouting, people urinating and throwing bottles and food in their gardens, and vomiting in the street, and they believed this would get even worse if the licence was approved.

But Absolute Leisure solicitor Ronald Mitchel said that measures were in place to prevent noise disturbance from inside the premises, and people would tend to disperse gradually if it stayed open until 2.30am.

The company did not win everything it was asking for. It had applied to continue with entertainment until 2.30 and close at 2.45am, but the committee agreed only to 2am and 2.30am respectively.

A separate application for a late licence for after the premises are refurbished was agreed last year by the council. An appeal against that is due to be heard by magistrates next month, although many objectors have withdrawn their appeal amid fears they might face massive legal costs.

Campaigners at loggerheads over decision

CAMPAIGNERS and council bosses were at loggerheads today over the implications of a High Court decision for the future of York's Barbican site.

As reported in later editions of yesterday's Evening Press, the Save Our Barbican (SOB) campaign has won a victory as it continues trying to block fresh plans to redevelop the area, which were announced only last week by council leisure bosses.

A High Court judge yesterday ordered the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to reconsider a ruling it made last summer, when SOB was applying for a judicial review of the council's decision to grant planning permission.

The LSC said then that SOB members should contribute 50 per cent of the costs of the application, a decision which led to the campaigners being unrepresented in court, after which the application was thrown out.

Following yesterday's decision, campaign spokesman Ernie Dickinson said it was now set to lodge an out-of-time application to the Court of Appeal against last summer's decision, and press for a fresh judicial review.

"Do I now hear the sound of a spanner being thrown in the works?" he asked, claiming that for the first time, SOB was fighting on a level playing field against the "biased" authorities in York.

But City of York Council claimed the decision would not affect its plans for the site, saying: "The matter was heard and resolved in the council's favour more than six months ago.

"As far as we are concerned, the judge's decision was the end of the matter." The new redevelopment plans include a care home, a larger-than-planned high quality hotel, but no replacement swimming pool on the nearby Kent Street Coach Park.

Updated: 11:11 Tuesday, January 31, 2006