A CITY centre pub has won the right to hold more al fresco events and open into the early hours - despite protests from dozens of residents.

The Tap & Spile in Monkgate can serve alcohol until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1 am on Fridays and Saturdays.

It can also hold external events on a maximum of five days a year, each one lasting no longer than two days and finishing no later than 9pm.

The decision was taken by City of York Council's licensing sub-committee after people living nearby had said they feared their "peace and sanity" would be threatened if the pub got the go-ahead with its plans.

Thirty-six residents had written letters of objection to the authority, many citing a charity weekend held last year, Elvis Academy, as an example of how disruptive outside events could be.

One objector, Professor JR Lindsay Smith who has lived opposite the pub for more than 30 years, said today he was unhappy at the decision, with his greatest concern being the potential noise disturbance to local residents from the outdoor events.

"The problem is the amplified music," he said.

He claimed that over the last 20 years, the council had encouraged substantial residential development for elderly people close to the Tap & Spile, but was now allowing activities that could cause them a disturbance.

He stressed that the pub was well-run and part of the community. "It's a nice pub," he said.

He said a test for how noisy external events would be would come this weekend, when an event is staged with permission dating back to the old licensing system.

Landlady Melanie Merry said an Elvis event planned for Sunday had been cancelled, but ten bands would be playing in the beer garden on Bank Holiday Monday.

She said the event would be raising funds for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and finish before 9pm.

She stressed that she had volunteered to stick to only five outside events a year, "giving residents back 360 days", which she did not think was unreasonable.

She added that the pub was a quiet, real ale outlet, where the average age of punters was about 40. It did not attract students because they had no drinks promotions, and it was not her customers who were responsible for vomiting and urinating in the streets.

:: Late-night drinking proposals

LATEST applications for late licences to City of York Council include:

Waggon and Horse, Lawrence Street: To serve alcohol until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays

Tam O'Shanter, Lawrence Street: To serve alcohol until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays

Phoenix, George Street: To serve alcohol until midnight from Sunday to Thursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

Updated: 10:19 Wednesday, August 24, 2005