A HOTEL bar plan can go ahead as long as it does not attract "the riff-raff", Bournemouth's licensing board has agreed.

Hilton Hotel owner THAT Group has been granted a licence for a ground floor 'gastro pub' with outdoor seating called 'Tonic Social', despite opposition from Dorset Police and several other bars in the area.

Acting board chairman Councillor David Kelsey said the decision was based on the new bar being responsibly run and not exacerbating anti-social behaviour in the town centre.

"This is a great opportunity to improve the standard of licensed premises we have in the town, and I welcome the option of having some bars that will attract a more mature, and slightly older, and maybe more refined crowd of people," he said.

"What I don't want to see is you letting in all the riff-raff from other night clubs around the area because you are open slightly later than other places."

The licence allows the premises to open until 11pm Sunday to Wednesday, midnight on Thursday and 1am on Friday and Saturday. The outdoor area however must be closed by midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11pm on all other nights.

Cllr Kelsey said: "You have a massive responsibility, and I will be only too pleased to have you in for a licensing review if you step out of line once."

The firm will still need planning permission for the bar, the board said.

Dorset Police had claimed that the bar operating "during the hours where crime and disorder is at its peak" would contribute to anti-social behaviour in the area.

At the meeting, councillors quizzed representatives of THAT Group on the clientele they were looking to attract.

"I understand that you want a nice place, that you want people to come in and out throughout the day, you want people I guess a little bit more well-heeled, well-behaved, a nice clientele, I'm struggling to see how you're going to bring those people in as that area isn't known for its 30-something digital industry managers and bosses," said Cllr Beverley Dunlop.

Christopher May from the entertainment arm of THAT Group, said his team, which will be running the bar, was also responsible for the Hilton's LEVEL8IGHT The Sky Bar and Ballroom, the Bournemouth Ice Rink Alpine Bar and The Lost Paradise bar. Tonic Social will be run separately to the hotel business.

He said the Hilton already attracted the type of customer they were looking for to use the new venue, and that high-end pricing would deter bad behaviour.

The new bar at the Hilton will "stand out from the crowd", THAT Group's CEO says.

Peter Tisdale said his firm was aware of the "sensitivity" of the new location after a lengthy licensing process.

"We are pleased with the outcome of the recent licensing process, which was as long and detailed as we have come across in the history of our business," he said.

"The micro-location of this new operation is clearly sensitive to all stakeholders, and if that wasn’t clear to us before, then it certainly is now.

"The conditions and details accompanying this permission are testaments to that, and we thank the committee and stakeholders for their patience through the process.

"However, we are confident that we can carry this through with style and substance, not only in terms of adherence to the policy and conditions being laid before us but also in terms of an additional high-quality venue to the Bournemouth leisure scene.

"In the past two years, there have been many new entrants to the Bournemouth food and drink/leisure market, but we are certain that Tonic Social will stand out from the crowd in more ways than one."