THE Save Our Barbican (SOB) campaign is querying the police's decision to raise no objections to a late-night licence at York's Barbican Centre.

The campaigners - who are fighting to block an application to extend the drinks licence until 2am - say the force's stance appears "contradictory" when senior officers are raising concerns about levels of late-night, drink-related violence elsewhere in York.

Spokesman Ernie Dickinson is planning to raise the issue in a letter to Chief Inspector Andy Hirst, who last week said in a report to City of York Council that there was an "indisputable link between alcohol provision, the night-time economy and violent crime" in the city centre.

Speaking about the violent crime hotspot of Micklegate, Chief Inspector Hirst said that deregulation of licensing, leading to longer licensing hours, meant there was a potential for alcohol-related violent crime and disorder to increase.

Mr Dickinson said: "Considering that a senior police officer has such concerns about extended licensing hours leading to increased disorder, it seems contradictory that his own licensing officers have apparently raised no objections to the Barbican's licence being extended until 2am."

He said he estimated there were almost a thousand homes within a quarter-mile radius of the Barbican.

He found it hard to believe that police would not object if pubs in the area sought to extend their opening hours seven days a week until 2am.

Absolute Leisure, which is shortly set to take over the Barbican from City of York Council, has indicated that it expects to win magistrates agreement to the extension because police do not object.

More than a score of SOB members, mostly local residents, attended court recently to object to the extension because of concerns about late-night noise and disorder in a residential area. The hearing was abandoned because legal notices had not been posted correctly, and a fresh hearing is due to take place next April.

PC Dave Boag, one of York's licensing officers, said Chief Inspector Hirst's comments had related to the Micklegate area, where police believed there were saturation levels of licensed premises, and where there was statistical evidence of extensive alcohol-related crime problems.

He said police had held extensive talks with the Barbican's new operators and were satisfied that a series of conditions would prevent the late-night licence leading to alcohol-related crime and disorder. He stressed that other organisations, such as the council's environmental health department, would look at issues such as noise from the centre.

Updated: 10:39 Tuesday, November 30, 2004