DESPITE more than 40 objections, the new restaurant adjacent to Portishead's open air pool has been granted a licence to serve alcohol and host live music.

DESPITE more than 40 objections, the new restaurant adjacent to Portishead's open air pool has been granted a licence to serve alcohol and host live music.

People living near Lockhouse Lounge fear their lives will be made a misery if the venue provides live music at what, until now, has always been a tranquil beauty spot.

They are also worried that serving alcohol until midnight on some evenings will result in an increase in antisocial behaviour.

A Battery Lane resident said: "I chose to buy a home near to the Lake Grounds because of the beauty and the peace and quiet.

"I, like many other residents, fear we will be robbed of the tranquillity if live music is to be a regular occurrence and alcohol is to be served until all hours."

The Lockhouse Lounge has been granted permission to serve alcohol from 11am-11pm from Sunday to Wednesday and from 11am-midnight from Thursday to Saturday.

Live music will be permitted from 6-11pm from Sunday to Wednesday and from 6pm-midnight on Thursday to Saturday, however, a restriction has been imposed to ensure all doors and windows remain closed.

In an interview with the North Somerset Times last month, Lockhouse owner Deborah Griffith said she wanted to assure residents her aim was simply to provide customers with the opportunity to have a drink with their meal and enjoy an occasional jazz band.

The granting of the licences may be one problem out of the way for the restaurant but it also faces another hurdle.

Last week, a row broke out over the type of planning permission the restaurant holds. North Somerset Council has notified Portishead Pool Community Trust and the tenants of the restaurant that the correct planning permission is not in place for them to run the venue as they currently are.

The pool caf� has, in the past, operated with D2 planning permission for ancillary use, but planners say that, because the restaurant is operating outside of pool hours and has a separate entrance, it now requires A3 planning permission.

Trust spokesman Roger Whitfield said the pool's future relies on income from the lease with Lockhouse Lounge, which is being run on behalf of the trust.

North Somerset Council has given the trust three weeks to apply for A3 planning permission or risk further action.