ALLOWING a new Westbourne restaurant and bar to stay open late could “open the floodgates” to more requests, it has been claimed.

Camden Bar and Kitchen, which already has a premises at Poole’s Ashley Cross and is now set to replace Eau de Vie in Westbourne, originally wanted to stay open until 2am on Friday and Saturday.

Following discussions with the police, operators agreed to reduce this to 1.30am. But this has still sparked objections from Westbourne councillors John Beesley and Barry Goldbart.

The application will be considered by Bournemouth’s licensing committee tomorrow.

Cllr Goldbart, inset, said: “Any move to allow this application could open the floodgates to many more such requests in this area of Westbourne and that would not be a desirable outcome.

“Westbourne is a part of Bournemouth that has a close mix of residential properties, retail shops and restaurants. Any extension of late night activity could only result in unacceptable disturbance to residents in the area.”

And Cllr Beesley’s objection states: “The character and enjoyment of residential amenity in the area would be severely compromised as a result and the later hours would be out of character with the locality and impossible to control satisfactorily.”

Applicant Lauren Curley stressed they were a local, family-run and independent company and wanted to be a positive influence in Westbourne.

She said: “We have been looking for a second venue for some time and we feel that Westbourne is the perfect area for us.

“During our three years trading in Poole we have established ourselves as a responsible operator.

“We achieved this by being pro-active in our community and co-operating closely with local authorities, including our ongoing chair at the local Pubwatch.”

She added they had a strict code of conduct to ensure alcohol was sold responsibly and said Camden was intended to be a “chilled out and pleasant drinking environment that is very different to many venues in Bournemouth.”