Two women hoping to open a Spanish tapas restaurant in Whalley had to explain how their plans would not worsen late-night disturbances in the village.

Kellie Hughes and Danielle Roberts have applied to Ribble Valley Council for a premises licence to open Tapas Forty Seven at 47 King Street.

But because of residents’ complaints about anti-social behaviour, drunkenness, noise disturbance and other issues, especially at weekends, the borough operates a ‘cumulative impact assessment’  for any new licence applications in the village.

Under the system, the onus is on applicants wanting a licence from the council to demonstrate their ideas will not undermine efforts to tackle the problems in Whalley.

Ms Hughes and Ms Roberts said their tapas restaurant would hold between 25 and 30 people and be open from 5pm to 10pm from Monday to Wednesday, and noon to 10pm from Thursday to Sunday Sunday. Joseph Cross is named as the proposed designated premises supervisor.

The two women said they had both worked in Whalley for years, as a hairdresser and in hospitality respectively, and the village would benefit from a new family restaurant.

Ms Hughes said: “Being a resident of Whalley for such a long time, I feel the village needs something that is family orientated. We want to do something a bit different.

“People will only be able to come into the premises if they eat. We will operate an over-25s policy, last orders for drinks will be 9.15pm and we will shut at 10pm. This won’t be a place where people fill their bellies with beer.  It’ll be for families and meals, with tables and booths.

Ms Roberts added: “I have been working in pubs for many years and I know about all the issues in Whalley. I know there are issues with anti-social behaviour on Accrington Road and with one or two premises, but I don’t think there’s much trouble in pubs. ”

But parish councillor John Threlfall said: "I appreciate Kellie’s comments about wanting to bring something positive to Whalley. But sadly, issues about licensed premises come up at every single parish council meeting. We also get email after email about these issues between our meetings.

“A key issue is where do people go after 10pm? This restaurant won’ t be open late but will customers then go elsewhere?

"At weekends, a number of venues in Whalley are open late, so people from the tapas restaurant would move on somewhere else. The phrase we often hear from residents is ‘enough is enough’. Residents are asking if we need another premises open in the evenings. ”

The applicants are now awaiting a licensing sub-committee decision.