A WESTON bar, where underage people drinking alcohol and the presence of drugs have been witnessed, has been given permission to open longer this weekend.

North Somerset Council’s licensing panel gave Dragon Kiss the green light to extend its opening hours on Saturday and Sunday, despite some initial reservations from police that it may add to their workload.

Ashley Swan, who works for the bar’s owners Mu Mu Enterprises, applied for the extension to opening hours to tie in with Halloween, with the venue keen to cash in on extra people out in Weston town centre.

Dragon Kiss wanted to stay open until 4am, rather than close as normal at 2am. The council agreed on Tuesday to grant the extension.

The move comes only 12 months after then Weston inspector Liz Hughes said the Mu family were motivated primarily by profit. Her views came during a hearing where police and council officials raised concerns at the large number of incidents inside and outside the venue.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary has always maintained it does not want to stifle business, but it raised slight concerns that granting the Regent Street nightspot extended opening hours could affect its attempts to patrol Weston’s streets.