A SNOOKER club has had its opening times reduced after it breached warnings over the levels of noise coming from the venue on ‘several occasions’.

Mid Suffolk District Council’s Licensing Panel made the decision after concerns about noise coming from The Riverside Snooker and Social Centre in Stowmarket.

The venue, in Stowupland Street close to the railway station, will now have to close at 12.30am instead of 2am each night between Thursday and Saturday. But Sunday’s closing time will remain at midnight.

In the second review hearing into the establishment in just over 24 months, the panel heard how noise had been audible from inside people’s homes and in the surrounding streets.

Thirteen residents and tenants of nearby Pickerel Court had signed a letter and sent it to the council about the issue.

The panel heard how the review had been instigated by Mid Suffolk’s Environment Health department on the grounds of the effects of ‘noise nuisance’.

The council served a noise abatement notice in November 2010, which is currently in force, with an amendment being made in April this year.

But in the meeting it was reported that the notice had been breached several times.

Staff from the Environmental Health department advised the panel that they have undertaken visits to the premises and heard levels of noise which breached the notice.

There had also been two occasions since the notice was amended when a Mid Suffolk Environmental Health officer had witnessed it being breached.

Representations from Suffolk Constabulary and the local planning authority had also been made at the meeting.

The Riverside Snooker and Social Centre currently holds a premises licence authorising regulated entertainment, supply of alcohol for consumption on the premises and late night refreshment.

The current premises licence holders at The Riverside are Mr D H Perry and Mr R J Perry. Mr R J Perry has held a personal licence since November 2005, which is due to expire in July 2015.