A LATE licence has been granted for a bar due to open on the site of an old pub in North Finchley.

Bosses looking to launch The Mist bar, in Ballards Lane, were today given permission to serve alcohol until as late as midnight during the week and 1am at weekends.

They will also be permitted to show films, hold live music events and play recorded music until those same times.

The premises was previously open as the Erris Tavern but has been closed since last year while the new owners carry out refurbishment work.

Speaking at a Barnet Council licensing sub-committee meeting today, representatives for the bar said there has been a pub on the site since at least 1965 and claimed there had never been any problems.

They dismissed most of the four representations against the application that were handed to the council before the hearing, stating most of the people did not live within the immediate vicinity of the address.

Barnet police did not make an official objection to the application, and licensing officers from the council said conditions around CCTV filming and recording had already been agreed and would be enforced if the licence was approved.

One neighbour, who spoke at the meeting, said he and his partner's sleeping patterns would be disturbed if a late licence was granted, and raised concerns about the possibility of “constant noise” and antisocial behaviour emanating from the bar.

Councillor Kate Salinger, who was sitting on the committee, pointed out that some degree of noise was to be expected when living on a high street, but added: “This should not be an excuse for loud, penetrating music.”

The applicants, who were represented by The National Association of Turkish restaurants, takeaways and supermarkets (NARKS), said they had done “everything we can” to stop noise coming out of the premises, including sound proofing on walls and ceilings.

In granting the application at Hendon Town Hall, in the Burroughs, chairman of the meeting, Councillor Lisa Rutter, said further conditions would be added to ensure licensing objectives are met and they are able to “restrict” antisocial behaviour.

She said a sound limiter will be installed in the neighbouring residential properties to monitor noise levels and the front door of the bar should remain shut at all times, except for use as an entrance or exit.

The approval for a licence comes just weeks after councillors approved the re-opening of the venue formally known as the Embassy Lounge, in Tally Ho.

The new owners of the former trouble hot-spot were granted permission to operate as a bar-restaurant and promised to work alongside neighbours to keep antisocial behaviour to a minimum.

It means there are now at least four licensed venues around Tally Ho corner, including a branch of the JD Weatherspoons chain.