AN empty venue at Link Top, Malvern, is shortly to be given a new lease of life as a bar and restaurant.

James Philpotts and Iesha McIntosh, both of Malvern, were granted a licence for the sale of alcohol and for the playing of recorded music at the Cave, 90 Worcester Road, a former Indian restaurant.

And the couple hope to have the venue, on which they have spent substantial sums of money, open for business within a short time.

Mr Philpotts and Miss McIntosh were granted the license at a hearing of Malvern Hills District Council's licensing sub-committee.

In their application for a license, they described the establishment they plan to open as a "cocktail lounge, sports bar and grill split over three levels".

The hours requested were 10am to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays and 10am to 11pm for the rest of the week.

There were two objections to the proposal, one from Adrian Guest of Oxford Road, a very close neighbour of the property, and another from Capital 42 Ltd, the owner of properties in Oxford Road.

The main concerns were noise from the business and its customers, including the impact of music and the sound of air-conditioning machinery; the possibility of anti-social behaviour around the premises and a nearby alleyway; and the allocation of an outside smoking area, which could cause further nuisance to local residents.

At the hearing, the applicants told the subcommittee that they had spent some £4,000 in sound insulation around the premises. They also d said that they only planned to have "quiet background music".

They also agreed to conditions requested by the police, which include having door supervisors who must remain on duty until all customer have left.

After hearing from the applicants and objectors, the sub-committee agreed to grant the license. The conditions included installing noise limiters and implementing customer dispersal policies, to be approved by Worcestershire Regulatory Services.

After the meeting, the couple said they were delighted to have the license approved Mr Philpotts said: "We hope to have it open within the next couple of weeks. It should be soon."