CAMPAIGNERS against a late licence at York's Barbican Centre have demanded to know how many people would be allowed inside.

The Save Our Barbican campaign said today that in the agenda for next Monday's council licensing sub-committee meeting, it states: "The maximum occupancy figures will be agreed by the council upon completion of the works."

Spokesman Ernie Dickinson said this was a "disgrace", claiming: "Local residents are being asked to accept the operation without even being informed of the numbers of happy drinkers involved.

"SOB has had expert opinion that a figure of 3,000 - yes 3,000 - is not unrealistic, given the size of the proposed licensed areas.

"We challenge those involved, and this includes the council, to publicly state what occupancy figures they estimate before Monday's meeting."

He claimed the Barbican was surrounded on all sides by thousands of homes, and the thousands of customers would have to pass through residential areas on their way to and from the centre.

"This of course is what the local residents object to. The potential for disorder and nuisance is massive, especially in the early hours."

Mr Dickinson was responding after Tony Knox, managing director of prospective Barbican operators Absolute Leisure, warned in Monday's Evening Press that the company would walk away from a planned £3 million investment in refurbishing and reopening the centre if it fails to win a late licence.

Mr Knox also denied the centre would be a nightclub populated by lager louts, but would have a more sophisticated clientele and families.

But Mr Dickinson said that if the centre was to be about dining by "sophisticated customers and families," why was the late licence "absolutely essential"?

He said: "We simply do not believe that there is a demand for tea and sticky buns in the early hours. We believe the operation is all about the sale of alcohol on a massive scale, simply because that is where the profit is.

"Take your £3 million, Mr Knox, and spend it elsewhere.

"There is a vacant site, called Ikon & Diva, on Clifton Moor."

Mr Knox said: "Obviously, the capacity of the Barbican is set by the relevant authorities and not by the operators, but we don't envisage much of a rise, if any, beyond what it is at the moment."

A council licensing spokesman was unable to comment on SOB's claims.

The licensing committee hearing at the Guildhall, which is due to start at 10am on Monday, is set to last for two days. More than 200 objections to the late licence have been received.

The three councillors who will sit on the committee are Liberal Democrats Charles Hall and Gilbert Nimmo and Labour member David Horton.

Updated: 09:51 Saturday, July 09, 2005