A HAWICK pub has been granted an extension of its drinking hours – despite an objection from neighbours.

John and Belinda Adam asked Scottish Borders Licensing Board to refuse the bid by J. D. Weatherspoon in respect of The Bourtree, which opened over two years ago in the former Conservative Club building at 22 Bourtree Place.

The pub giant, which also has outlets in Galashiels and Peebles, was seeking leave to sell alcohol both on and off the premises at 11am on a Sunday, instead of the current 12noon.

The firm also wanted to operate for an extra hour – until 1am – on Thursdays.

In a letter to the board, which met last Friday, Mr and Mrs Adam claimed existing drinking hours were “bad enough”.

“Our bedroom wall is adjacent to the car park and people coming and going can be heard late at night and the littering of patrons from the premises is unacceptable,” stated the couple.

“The smell from the service of food is horrendous currently and the extension of hours will be unacceptable as they are obviously not cleaning vents etc to eliminate the odour.

“The hours they currently have are perfectly sufficient and they do not require an extension to cause disturbance to residential properties.” At the board meeting in Newtown, which Mr and Mrs Adam did not attend, Glasgow-based licensing lawyer Archie Maciver, representing Wetherspoon, noted the police had not objected to the application.

He said pub manager Chris Mooney and his team had received no complaints directly from Mr and Mrs Adam about the issues raised in their letter.

“The car park is cleaned regularly,” said Mr Maciver. “Since the pub opened there has been just one issue regarding noise from the uplift of empty bottles. When that contractor refused to change collection times, the contract was terminated.” He claimed management were “completely unaware” of any problems regarding cooking smells.

“All kitchen equipment, including vents, are cleaned and serviced regularly and I am unaware of any complaints having been made to environmental health,” said Mr Maciver.

Board member Councillor David Paterson (Hawick and Hermitage) said he had not received a single complaint about The Bourtree since it opened, although he was concerned about the Thursday night extension.

“There can be a lot of banging doors when people leave the premises and, with Friday being a working day, this could create problems,” he said.

Mr Maciver commended “a perfectly good application from good operators” and, despite Mr Paterson’s misgivings, the board unanimously agreed to grant the licence extension.

Wetherspoon was also granted a licence extension to sell alchohol from 11am on Sundays at its Hunter’s Hall outlet in High Street, Galashiels.