Chelmsford town centre could entertain nearly 7,000 revellers a night this summer as yet another late-night venue is granted a licence.

The Chelmer House office block, in Springfield Road, will be transformed into a bar by the end of June after a £1.2 million refit.

It has been granted a six-month public entertainment licence by Chelmsford Council's licensing and regulatory committee.

The new venue, part of the Toad chain, will aim to cater for everyone, providing everything from morning coffee for shoppers to cocktails for late night party-goers.

The addition of this venue brings the total number of late-night premises in Chelmsford's riverside area to five, adding to the already-established Yates, Edward's, Tumbleweed and Lloyd's No 1 bar.

The possibility of this amount of people flooding into Chelmsford High Street in the early hours of the morning causes concern for members of Chelmsford Council's licensing committee.

Committee chairman Councillor Philip Firth (Lib Dem, Moulsham Lodge) said: "This is a growing problem. Late-night venues are the in thing."

Essex Police initially objected to the plans because the proposal included a large balcony but the objections were withdrawn when the applicant agreed to close the balcony by 8pm.

Martin Reed, licensing officer for Essex Police, said: "The new bar will have CCTV on the premises as well as door staff and has agreed to be part of the town's pub link scheme, which links them to the central CCTV network."

Published Wednesday, March 6, 2002