THE trust that runs the bar at Bournemouth’s Littledown Centre has defended itself after criticism over opening hours.

A row kicked off on election day after Independent councillors Anne Rey and Ron Whittaker blasted the council for not opening the bar at the venue later than its normal 10pm closing time as votes were counted.

The council said that it was not appropriate to open the bar during the count and that had been the policy in previous years.

Earlier this week Cllr Rey also said that the centre should be run by a private company rather than BH Live, which is a not-for-profit charity.

One regular user of the bar, Brian George, has backed that view, but Peter Brown, head of leisure at BH Live, which also runs venues such as the BIC and Pavilion, said the opening hours for the whole centre, and in turn the bar, were cut last year when BH Live took over, as a straightforward “business decision”.

“The income we made after 10pm didn’t warrant the staff being there,” he said.

But Mr George, of Southbourne, told the Daily Echo the venue was being “run into the ground”.

He said: “We see on a regular basis 30-50 people being kicked out of the bar at 10pm and customers who have been watching live sport or taking part in Littledown activities are unable to use the catering and bar facilities.

“I agree with Anne Rey, the venue should be run by anyone but BH Live, we need someone who is going to show an interest in the Littledown and care about the customers who use the place.”

However, Mr Brown added: “If there were 30-50 people in the bar every night at 10pm we would stay open but there aren’t, so we don’t.”

The council said it transferred running of the centre – along with other venues – in May 2010 to save cash. Existing council staff transferred to BH Live at the time.