CONTROVERSIAL plans to refurbish a nightclub have been mysteriously withdrawn.

Leisure firm Lady Joy Ltd informed planners by e-mail yesterday morning that it no longer wished to pursue the £1m upgrade of The Wesley nightclub in Hartlepool town centre.

The surprise withdrawal came about an hour before the town's planning committee was to meet to consider the application, which had been opposed by the neighbouring Grand Hotel.

It was expected that any decision on the plan would be deferred until further details were received on how the club planned to sound-proof the building, but it never reached that point.

Independent planning committee member Councillor Stan Kaiser said members were very surprised by the last-minute change of heart.

"The Wesley came under great pressure from the planning authority to provide a very significant sound protection system to protect the residents, particularly those at the neighbouring Grand Hotel," he said.

"They have provided a scheme, which had certain problems, but they could have been dealt with, and now they have totally withdrawn their application.

"It's my belief this may be because they have been frightened by the massive costs involved in providing sound protection for residents.

"It's just a matter of time to see if they will re-submit their application."

Plans to overhaul the club were welcomed by police and the community because it had a poor reputation for underage drinking and alcohol-fuelled violence.

Police figures for violence showed it was the worst bar or club in Hartlepool.

Lady Joy's area manager, Russell Vickers, said he hoped to change that by refurbishing the club, attracting older drinkers and scrapping the £10 admission fee, drink-as-much-as-you-like policy.

However, the plans were opposed by the Danesh Kohli, managing director of the town's flagship hotel, who said a new disabled access would create even further noise pollution for guests at the Grand Hotel and would damage the tourism business.

As a result, councillors asked that the club carry out a survey of how it would sound-proof the whole of the listed building, which used to be a church, and provide detailed plans before any decision was given.

A survey was provided, but planning officers requested more detail, and then the application was withdrawal.

Neither Mr Kohli, Mr Russell or Dukedom Ltd, which was acting for The Wesley, were available for comment yesterday.