A new restaurant is coming to Corbridge after the prospective owners had their licence request approved by councillors.
The Sycamore Restaurant will open in the village's historic town hall building on Prices Street - the site of the former Duck House Restaurant.
Councillors approved the proposals despite concerns from nearby residents over noise and anti-social behaviour. The council received 11 representations from residents, but neither Northumbria Police or the council's public protection team registered any objection.
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According to the application, the proposed business will consist of a "high end destination" restaurant on the first floor with a "modest" cocktail bar on the ground floor.
The original application had asked for a closing time of 2am on Fridays and Saturdays, but this was "quickly amended." The proposals approved would allow the restaurant to stay open until 12am on Fridays and Saturdays, 11pm from Monday to Thursday and 10pm on Sundays.
Speaking at a licensing hearing on Tuesday, barrister Nicola Allan, acting on behalf of the applicant Michael Forster, said: "Corbridge does lack a proper restaurant with a wide offer. This will encourage business and investment to the area.
"The business model is similar to the Beamount in Hexham. Music will be at a low level as expected for a restaurant."
Mr Forster added:" The idea has been to bring an offer to Corbridge that it doesn't have. It is a 150 year old grade-II listed building and we want to treat with care and respect.
"We want to be good neighbours and create an offering that benefits Corbridge, creating jobs in the community. We live locally and we understand the area and the market. We're not here to cause trouble."
But objector Richard Marshall, speaking on behalf of a group of residents at the nearby Princes Court apartment block, said he still had concerns.
Mr Marshall said: "Noise is my main concern. You've got all those windows running along the front which are single glazing. It's probably very difficult to change that.
"How are you going to try and minimise that amount of noise that will be escaping from the single glazing?"
Residents also raised concerns about the "takeaway" aspect of the alcohol licence. However, the applicants reassured residents by stating that this was due to the fact the restaurant would be selling expensive bottles of wine with meals that customers may want to take home if they did not finish during their meal.
Ms Allan added: "It's not the sort of music that will be particularly loud or have a base note."
Despite the reduced opening hours, residents noted they were still concerned the restaurant would be open after 11pm on some nights. However, the application was approved despite this concern, with the hearing's chairman Ian Hutchinson noting after the meeting that there was "no reason" to refuse the request.
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