A VILLAGE social club hopes to realise its potential after being allowed to open later on weekends.

Byers Green Club, on North Street, Byers Green, near Spennymoor, has secured a premises licence until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

It will be able to serve alcohol and hold entertainment such as indoors sports and music until midnight on other nights.

Closing time will be half an hour after those hours.

Club steward Dean Armstrong said the club has undergone a series of improvements recently, not least a new kitchen which it wants to build on.

The club had applied to Durham County Council for a licence that would enable it to serve drink and host entertainment until 1am every day.

Solicitor Patrick Saunders, who represented the club at a licensing sub-committee meeting at County Hall, Durham, today (Wednesday, July 15), said the club sought wanted greater flexibility for special events or functions.

He said and that it did not intend to alter its opening hours.

“The reason for the application is to give greater flexibility to the club so if there were to be short notice events they can open until 1am to accommodate them.

“There is no intention to turn this into a nightclub as suggested in one objection.

“It is a friendly community driven club, everyone on the committee is from the village so the last thing it wants to do is make enemies.”

Residents of two houses nearby objected to the changes and said the noise from the club and behaviour of customers outside is already ‘intolerable’ at times.

No objectors attended the meeting and Mr Armstrong said police had never been required in the eight years he has been there and if residents have concerns the committee with very willing to address them.

He added: “We have now got a good kitchen so have the potential to do more, an art group has started up and it will be nice in the future if someone wanted to have their wedding in the club.”

With no guarantee of how often such occasions would arise the committee agreed to extend its weekend hours only.

The club had already agreed to a series of conditions to prevent crime and disorder and underage drinking such as staff training, CCTV and working closely with police.

Chairman Joyce Maitland said: “We suggest if you have special events on inform residents verbally or by leaflets to be a good neighbour, that might go down well.”

She said the creation of a smoking area in the beer garden would prevent smokers congregating at the front of the club, which neighbours had complained about.