OBJECTIONS to a New Year’s Eve drinks licence for a Swanage High Street business will be tested at a licensing meeting next week.

The Purbeck Plaza has applied for a new Premises Licence for New Year’s Eve – leading to public objections over the proposal.

The Plaza, which was previously the Purbeck Hotel, describes itself as a Tapas-style restaurant serving breakfast, lunches and dinner with drinks, including alcohol.

It has requested a New Year’s Eve premises licence for live music until midnight with recorded music until 2am with on and off sales of alcohol until the same time.

Monday’s licensing sub-committee, to be held in Dorchester, will be told that there has been three public objections to the application.

One of the objectors makes a series of points about public behaviour on the street in the area – not directly related to the Purbeck Plaza.

The objector complains of people taking loudly late into the evening, taking drink and drugs and urinating in the street.

Specific points relating to the Purbeck Plaza include a request not to empty trade waste, especially glass, late at night and to restrict sales until 10.30pm Sunday to Thursday and until 11pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with a limited number of additional opening to a later time for special events such as New Year’s Eve, the Swanage carnival and the town’s blues festival.

A family living close to the Plaza have also expressed concerns over the late hours telling the committee that they are frequently kept awake by people shouting, swearing and singing, also not directly related to the Plaza although they add : “We are concerned that these problems will be made worse by the presence of another late-night drinking establishment even closer to our home.”

The third objector, while commending the Purbeck Plaza owners for bringing a run-down property back into use, is also concerned about late-night disturbance being added to by extra opening.

The Plaza say that although they are asking for recorded music after midnight the intention is only to have quiet background music into the early hours.

The premises has also assured resident that it will do all that it can to ensure customers leaving the premises respect their neighbours.