NEW life could be breathed into two 'Dukes' as bids are made to relaunch pubs on different sides of Weymouth town centre.

But concerns about potential noise and anti-social behaviour have been raised by residents.

Applications for premises licences for the Duke of Cornwall in St Edmund Street and the the Duke of Albany in Park Street have been submitted.

The licence for the Duke of Cornwall is for alcohol sales from 11am-2am every day and for the Albany it is midday to midnight Sunday to Thursday and until 2am Friday and Saturday.

A number of objections have been made by local residents regarding both applications which will be considered by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council's Licensing Sub Committee when it considers the licence applications at a meeting on January 12. The committee has the power to grant the licence, grant it with conditions, or refuse the application or part of it.

Both pubs have been shut for a while and applicants have come forward to get them going again.

Sara Tempest is applying for a premises licence for the Duke of Cornwall while John Simmance is applying for a licence for the Duke of Albany.

A sign in the window at the Duke of Cornwall said it was hoped to have the pub open before Christmas but due to residents' objections this was not possible.

Regarding the pub, a report to the committee says: "Eight interested parties have made a representation. The authority has also received a standard petition letter individually signed by six other parties. However, the authority has only counted this as one letter of representation. There has been no representation made by Dorset Police, environmental health or any of the other responsible authorities."

The letters raise concerns about the pub adding to late night trouble and noise problems, and there are calls for the hours to be restricted.

Regarding the Duke of Albany, a report says two interested parties have made a representation and concerns have also been raised by Melcombe Regis councillor Francis Drake. There have been no other comments received from the other responsible authorities.

The report says: "The first representation contained an objection to the new licence relating to the prevention of a public nuisance. There is concern about the potential noise. The second representation contained general concerns regarding potential crime and disorder and public nuisance. Mr Simmance offered to reduce the hours and meet with the first representative to discuss noise suppression measures to address the concerns. The meeting was rejected and the application remains as originally submitted."