A TAVISTOCK night club has won approval for later opening times on Thursday and Saturdays following an about-turn by councillors.

The Crown Centre in Russell Street is to be allowed to stay open until 1am on Thursday and Saturday nights.

The go-ahead, by West Devon Council's planning committee on Monday, came just months after the same committee cut back the club's opening hours.

The club was previously only allowed to stay open until 1am on Friday nights. On Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays closing time was set at 11.59pm, on Mondays and Tuesdays at 11pm and on Sundays at 10.30pm.

The change of heart by councillors followed a request by the club to bring the hours allowed under its planning condition into line with those permitted by its entertainments licence — which were greater.

Councillors in August rejected that plea and instead gave approval for the shorter hours for a temporary period of six-months, after which it would be reviewed.

Crown Centre owner Bob Jones said they had been operating the longer hours for more than ten years and it would have curtailed a lot of people's enjoyment if they had had to go to Plymouth or Exeter for their entertainment.

He said:'Common sense has prevailed. It will be business as usual. We think 1 o'clock is not "late night" entertainment and the police and fire brigade didn't object.'

Mr Jones said the six-month temporary condition would have meant they could not carry out improvements on spec.

'Now we can see a clear path,' he said, adding that they wanted the centre to be 'the pride of Tavistock'.

After the meeting Christine Grills, the only councillor to vote against the application, said committee members had been told that even if they kept to the original hours there was no way they could be enforced.

'There was not much we could do, so basically I think that is why they voted in favour.

'But I felt personally we had made a ruling for six months and we should have stuck to it and shown people who had objected that we took notice of what they said,' she said.

Nine letters of objection had been received by the council on grounds including the adverse effect on residents' amenities, noise from the building and problems of vandalism.

Mr Jones said a lot of work had been done with regards sound-proofing, and it was not just youngsters who came to the centre — a letter of support was read at the planning meeting from a 54-year-old man who had been coming to the centre since 1988 and enjoyed the facilities.

Mr Jones said he would be writing to ward member Dick Eberlie —who had objected to the application at the meeting although not a committee member himself — to arrange to meet him and see if his concerns could be sorted out.

At the August meeting Cllr Eberlie had said the youth of Tavistock had forfeited their rights to the late opening of a town night club and did not deserve wider hours.

He claimed anti-social behaviour had increased and he had received complaints from residents.

The club's permitted opening hours are now: Mondays and Tuesdays, 8am until 11pm; Wednesdays, 8am until 11.59pm; Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 8am until 1am; Sundays, 10am until 10.30pm.