A former nightclub which once hosted The Who and Black Sabbath is set to reopen as a music cafe and bar, despite neighbours’ fears.

The former Tofts Jazz Club, on Grace Hill, in Folkestone was a major music venue in the 1960s, with Fleetwood Mac and Little Richard also performing there.

After being shut for decades, the venue is now set to reopen as Toft’s Cafe Bar under new owners Marceline Powell and Dr Christopher Udenze.

At a meeting of Folkestone & Hythe District Council’s (FHDC) licensing committee on Monday, the couple made their case to the authority and residents.

“We’ve kept the music theme because of the history of the building. I’m a former musician myself, and my partner is a bit of a hippy and a music lover,” Ms Powell said.

“We wanted to blend music into the theme but it’s really about socialising, coming out and having a drink and a bite to eat,” she continued.

The maximum capacity for the venue is 60, and Ms Powell stressed that a limiter on their speakers and control over volume in different parts of the building would reduce noise disturbance.

Originally applying for a licence for both live and recorded music until midnight all days of the week, they reduced the application to play music until 11.30pm every night except Friday and Saturday, when it will go on until midnight.

Live and recorded music before 11pm does not require a licence.

Prior to the meeting, 10 residents wrote to FHDC to object, and several turned up to the meeting to make the case against the venue.

Tracy Salisbury, who lives nearby, told the committee that if she knew there was to be a venue nearby she “would not have bought my property on New Street 13 years ago”.

“This is a residential area with residences directly adjoined to the venue,” she continued.

She also expressed fears of “inevitable drunken and loud behaviour with people entering and leaving the property”, adding: “I believe there are much better suited properties and areas of town for such a venue.”

Louise Forbes, who lives next to Tofts, said: “It has given me sleepless nights because obviously it will also be detrimental to the value of my property.”

“I do have a right to peace and quiet in my own home regardless of what time of day it is,” she said, telling that she works as a carer, sometimes working nights.

A council officer responded that changes to property values aren’t taken into account in licensing decisions.

Ms Powell, however, hit back at some of the criticisms, arguing that a nearby pub may be the source of disturbances.

Online records show Tofts hosted some of the biggest names in music before it closed in 1974.

Little Richard played the venue in 1966, with Cream and The Who playing the following year.

In 1969 Fleetwood Mac performed, followed by Black Sabbath in 1970 and Thin Lizzy the year after.

Cllr Jennifer Hollingsbee (Con), who chaired the meeting, told attendees that “after quite a lot of consideration” they decided to grant the licence.