A clash is due over a plan for later food and drink sales at a pub in Tilehurst which recently benefited from a makeover.
The Water Tower is located near the landmark of the same name in Park Lane.
Earlier this year, the brewery Greene King shifted from a managed Flaming Grill family restaurant to a franchised Hive pub.
A licensing application was submitted to Reading Borough Council to keep on selling alcohol until midnight and food until 12.30am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The application received four objections from neighbours complaining about noise disturbance and more activity from the pub after improvements were made to its outdoor area earlier this year.
Mary Elizabeth Jane said: “I am a local resident who backs onto the pub’s car park.
“I am already affected by the present operation of the pub.
“Extending alcohol sales until midnight and serving food until 12.30 will severely add to public nuisance late night early morning.
“My bedroom faces the car park, and I already suffer from lack of sleep from slamming car doors and shouting loud goodbyes.
“Extension of the seating area has increased the noise level.
“There is no management controlling noise levels.
“The recent changes have increased light pollution. One of the external lights shines directly into my bedroom and a second will do the same when leaves from the nearby tree fall.
“Extension hours will mean these lights will stay on even longer.
“The car parking facilities have been reduced, causing customers to use the narrow side roads.
“Extending the hours will lead to late-night talking well into the early hours outside residents’ homes.”
Greene King won permission for improvements to the outdoor area which involved a reduction of parking spaces from 30 to 26.
Nicky Brunsdon said: “The extended hours will have a significant negative impact on the surrounding area, including noise disturbance late at night affecting residents’ ability to sleep, an increase in anti-social behaviour such as shouting, littering and public intoxication.
“It will also increase issues with parking, with the patrons using Boundary Close as a car park due to the change in the parking already agreed by the council.”
She argued that these contravene the licensing objectives of preventing public nuisance and protecting public safety.
Therefore, she argued the application should either be refused or stricter conditions should be imposed to mitigate the impact on residents.
Yvyonne Hayward said: “The pub is already failing to control noise levels. There are currently two active noise complaints regarding loud voices from this venue being investigated by the council.
“Extending the hours will only worsen an unresolved, ongoing issue.”
Also weighing in, Mary Field said: “This pub is in a highly residential area bordering on several homes.
“Clients will not be leaving the pub until early hours, they will obviously be talking and opening and shutting car doors, which obviously disturbs sleep patterns.
“This should not have to be tolerated in such a close residential area. I have lived in this house since July 1975.
“Since being owned by Greene King, it is not the best-run pub.”
The changes made earlier this year mean The Water Tower is run as a franchise, rather than being directly managed by the brewery.
Because of these objections, the later hours bid will be decided at a meeting of the council’s licensing applications sub-committee on September 2.
