BLACKPOOL'S biggest nightclub has been granted permission to stay open until 3am despite protests from local residents.

Syndicate Superclub bosses, Mike and Sandra Nordwind, were granted the extended licensing hours at a meeting of Blackpool Council's public protection committee last week.

The Church Street club, celebrating its first birthday this month, and its new over 25s sister-venue, Status, have a capacity of more than 4,700.

Over the last year it has attracted top DJs and musical artists, establishing itself as one of the most popular nightclubs in the area.

The Nordwind's sought to increase their current licensing hours from 2am to 3am in line with recent extensions granted to other clubs in the area.

But the couple, who describe the venue as the North West's flagship club, were met with complaints from neighbours who say The Syndicate is turning the area into a ghost town for local residents.

Landlord John Warham, who owns flats and shop premises directly opposite the Church Street club, said: "Both the level of music coming from inside and the noise and anti-social nuisance when people leave the club are unacceptable.

"It also seems that the number of takeaways, restaurants and taxi ranks surrounding The Syndicate have mushroomed and they alone generate an incredible amount of disturbance.

"Combined with the noise, the vomit, broken glass and fighting it's obvious that the situation is just unacceptable.

"Residents are slowly moving away. The whole area is turning into a ghost town for those living there."

Council Environmental Protection official, Andrew Howard, conducted tests on noise levels at the club at around 12.30am and found they were "inappropriate".

The Nordwinds were issued with an abatement notice asking them to "take measures to rectify the situation" and have employed a specialist sound consultant and spent more than £26,000 to deal with problem.

Mr Nordwind told the meeting: "We have a made a number of changes to reduce noise pollution, but there are only so many structural changes you can make to a building which is more than 100 years old.

"We run a well organised and professional business and, when we took the current building on two years ago, I considered the area to be 99 per cent commercial not residential.

"The Syndicate is an asset to this town and to the North West. We are a local family and the money we earn does not make its way down the motorway. It is reinvested here."

The committee opted to extend The Syndicate's licensing hours to 3am under the provisions that there was no admission or serving of alcohol at the club after 2am.

A council spokesman said that more detailed noise level tests are due to be carried out on The Syndicate this weekend.