A club which has served its members "from cradle to grave" for over a century is hoping to safeguard its own future with extended hours.
The Easington Colliery Club and Institute applied for permission to open, serve alcohol and for the "provision of plays" between 8am and midnight, until 1am on New Year's Eve, and create an outside drinking area.
Club secretary Stephen Foster told Durham County Council's licensing sub-committee: "We're just trying to get some more footfall in the club. We just want to see how it goes.
"The hospitality industry is suffering greatly.
"I represent Durham for the CIU (Club and Institute Union), I represent 140 clubs and quite honestly the national picture is bleak."
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He said the club had been running since 1912: "We've been there a long time and basically we're the only place in town now that can hold any events.
"We've had the Bishop of Durham at functions there. We've had council events many times.
"We've been a big part of our members' lives for 100 years at important times in their lives - christenings, funerals and weddings - and we'd really hate to see the club go.
"We're fighting a hard battle to try and keep our doors open. Just that little bit of extra business makes a lot of difference."
The club on Seaside Lane, Easington Colliery already has a licence until midnight, but the new hours would mean it could open three hours earlier to cater for events and clubs' bus trips.
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Mr Foster added: "We do have applications for funerals and christenings. They're getting earlier and earlier. We haven't got a licence so we have to turn people away.
"Also we have quite a few bus trips that leave from the premises so instead of having them stand outside waiting for the bus they could come in and hopefully we'll sell them some beer and add to our income.
"The outside drinking area we're not anticipating being packed or anything like that. We're hoping families can come and sit in the sunshine and enjoy a drink with their friends."
The application drew three objections, raising issues including noise, privacy, security and risk of anti-social behaviour and nuisance near homes, but one of the objections was withdrawn later.
Mr Foster told councillors people would not be "partying from 8am til midnight", as objectors had feared.
He said they would not use open for all of the hours or use the outside area past 10pm and music would not be allowed outside because of the neighbours.
He said: "It's not a rave club where they're jumping up and down or anything like that.
"The club has quite a good record regarding discipline. We have a zero tolerance policy. We're absolutely ruthless with anybody found with drugs on the premises.
"We do care about our neighbours. We try our best. We think our club is the safest place in County Durham to drink.
"I've been a member over 50 years and I think it's a wonderful place, and without the club in the community I think would be very detrimental to Easington Colliery."
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The fire service, police and public health authority made no comment on the proposed hours.
Cllr Jan Blakey, chairing the licensing committee, said they had decided to grant the application, with conditions to close the outside area at 9.30pm Sunday to Thursday, 10pm Fridays and Saturdays.
Mr Foster said after the licensing hearing: "It was very fair. The council realises the plight of the hospitality industry. They look after you from the cradle to the grave and we do exactly the same."
Club chairman Danny Brown said: "It's been open for over 100 years. We've gone through two world wars, power cuts in the 70s, we opened a soup kitchen for the miners' strike in the 80s. The club was burned down in 1963 and reopened in 1965.
"We want to keep it going. It's more than a drinking club, it's the social life of Easington at the minute."
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