A PLANNING inspector has thrown out proposals for a new bar in Canterbury after witnessing gangs of noisy youths on pub crawls and urinating in the street.

The Department of Environment official has rejected an appeal by the Slug and Lettuce pub group following his own late night walk-about in the city.

He has backed an earlier decision by the city council that the new hostelry would generate more anti-social problems for neighbours, particularly those living in flats above the premises.

The Slug and Lettuce plan was to open a bar accommodating up to 600 customers in new premises on the corner of Iron Bar Lane and Burgate - which is property intended for retail use. But in considering the appeal, the inspector spent two nights in the city centre to see the problems for himself. He came away in sympathy with residents who complained about the noise and nuisance which often blights their evenings.

In his report, John Head from the DoE, said: "The main issue of this appeal is the impact of the proposed use on the living conditions of residents in the locality. My observations do not conflict with the police view that there is an established pub crawl circuit in the city centre.

"I found their behaviour boisterous and noisy with incidents of shouting and singing. The narrowness of the street and the height of the buildings created the 'canyon' effect allowing it to be heard along much of the length of the street."

"I don't doubt the council's and residents' submissions that the existing activity can be intimidating to passers-by and may give rise to incidents of anti-social behaviour such as urinating in the street, which I observed."

The rejection of the appeal has been met with relief by residents including David Cade.

He said: "The residents of Burgate are, of course, delighted by this decision. This proves that people can say 'no' to these large chains that put their interests before those residents who belong to the area.

"Although Burgate appears to be mostly shops, there are, in fact up to 70 people living there who have a right to a reasonable level of peace and to walk their streets without feeling intimidated!

"What we really need are more Bobbies on the beat in the city centre late at night to quell some of this anti-social activity."

The inspector's decision has also been welcomed by the police who objected to the planning application on the grounds it would cause more disorder in the city centre.