A pub in Camelford has been allowed to vary its licence to stay open until 2am for special events.

St Austell Brewery applied to Cornwall Council to allow the Masons Arms in Market Place, Camelford, to open later with the possibility of live music until 1am.

It led to 11 residents writing to the council opposing the application, alongside a representation from Camelford Conservative Club.

A representative from the Conservative club stated in a letter: “Camelford is not a busy city centre where a thriving night life is encouraged or managed. This is a ‘sleepy’ semi-rural town where the quiet late evenings are enjoyed and respected by residents.

“It is not evident what will be achieved by additional opening / extended opening hours. Is there a danger that this will attract later drinkers / revellers from other towns to visit late at night and cause nuisance?”

Several of those opposing the application mentioned fights outside the pub and were concerned such anti-social behaviour could increase if the extension was allowed.

Darren Partridge, area manager for St Austell Brewery, said that the application had not been made clear and the late extension was not for every night but monthly charity events of up to 20 a year.

He stressed there would be trained door staff employed on the specific nights and the pub adhered to responsible drinking laws and had a zero drugs policy. Mr Partridge added that the Masons Arms was part of a “decent, family-run business” which has raised a lot of money for charities and causes in Camelford.

The pub is the main sponsor of the town’s carnival, has raised £4,000 for Camelford’s Christmas lights and £5,000 for other charities. Mr Partridge said he wanted to emphasise the point that the pub is integrated into the local community.

Mr Partridge told the licensing sub-committee that the majority of the representations were from people living on the outskirts of Camelford and some were from members of the same household. He said there was no record of one of the fights mentioned in representations and the other was caused by a man who had been ejected from the pub due to his behaviour.

A statement was read out from another resident, Nicola Ormerod, who said she was not opposed to the Masons Arms holding occasional events supporting local charities. However, her concern was that the licensing application was considerably wider than the intentions described publicly by the pub.

She noted that the pub’s intention to only hold one or two events a month was not included in the application, which would allow the Masons Arms to open until 2am every day of the week.

After a period of deliberation, councillors granted the variation in the licence with restrictions – extended hours would only apply for Friday and Saturday nights, or a Sunday night before a bank holiday, and limited to two occasions a month.

Find out about planning applications that affect you by visiting the Public Notice Portal.

The applicant was encouraged to arrange a noise management plan with the council and there was to be no live music in the beer garden after 11pm.