A CONSERVATIVE CLUB will be able to open later, despite residents’ concerns that it could mean ‘permanent nuisance’.

Headington Conservative Club, in Windmill Road, was given the go-ahead to stay open until midnight on Fridays and open an outside area for drinkers.

Some residents had said they wanted the club’s bid rejected because they feared being disturbed.

But, telling the club it must adhere to a string of conditions, city councillors approved its application in five minutes on Monday evening.

Under the conditions, no noise from the club should exceed 45dB when readings are taken from a metre from the boundary of any nearby homes.

The drinking area outside the club must also not be used by customers between 10pm and 11am the following day at any times under the conditions.

The outside area will not be used for regulated entertainment, including music.

Some residents had told the city council they worried that allowing that would mean a ‘significant noise nuisance’ to people living in Bateman Street.

The measures appear to have neutralised what some residents had said were problems in the past.

One said: “Currently, there are already noise problems caused by events, with people standing outside.

“This application would formalise outdoor drinking until midnight, and would be a permanent nuisance to residents trying to sleep or enjoy a peaceful evening.”

Another argued: “The club is already open every day and every evening until very late. Adding further opening hours on a Friday is likely to encourage more noise, disruptive behaviour and disorder.

“My objections are based on previous experience over many years of the playing of music at maximum amplification until late at night, which has been a major disturbance.”

But representatives of the club, including its secretary Linda Garry, said many of their members were ‘conscious’ of noise and that many were senior citizens.

The Conservative Club was featured in the Oxford Mail in 2008 when it was about to start on a £30,000 revamp of its main lounge.

It involved buying a new bar, carpets, tables and chairs.

The club’s renovation was the first one for 30 years, and achieved despite it suffering financial difficulties a few years before the work.