The owner of a bar in Hitchin town centre has warned the venue could have to close if a noise complaint against it leads to its opening hours being reduced.

Bridgetown Monroe in Bucklersbury has been allowed to open until 2am since 2023, but environmental health have called for its licence to be reviewed after noise complaints were received.

A decision on the licence will be made at a meeting of North Herts Council's licensing sub-committee on Friday, November 6.

Christopher Dodd, who owns the bar, told the council that he could "lose everything" if it is forced to reduce its opening hours.

He said the complaints related to "a very limited period of trading" but that "the financial consequences of losing the final 90 minutes of my weekend trading would be devastating".

Mr Dodd continued: "Those hours represent nearly half of my takings in the figures provided. The bar currently breaks even, and I have no financial backing or reserves to absorb that loss."

He said the noise complaints were from a single resident who had moved into a nearby flat, and that he had attemped to resolve the situation through removing speakers, attaching a decibel restrictor, and using a decibel reader.

Environmental health officer Alan Stone has asked for the committee to consider a series of actions, including only allowing music to be played until 11pm or closing the venue altogether.

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Mr Stone said that when the bar's opening hours had been extended until 2am, it had agreed to a plan where it would host DJ events only once a month.

But, Mr Stone said, DJ events have been taking place "every Friday and Saturday night until 2am" in what he described as "a blatant disregard or ignorance of" the licensing condition.

The bar has been backed by town centre manager Danny Pearson, who told the council that Bridgetown Monroe are "good neighbours to the people along Bucklersbury", and continued: "For anyone complaining about noise, I'm not sure what to say other than it is a town centre … it will be lively.

"How blessed we are that we have an active town centre rather than a boarded up, dead end wasteland."

A decision on whether to change Bridgetown Monroe's licence will be made at next week's meeting.