Neighbours warned a new restaurant’s bid for a late-night drinks licence would destroy the area’s “peaceful village” ambience.

Moka Pan Asian has outlined its plans to open on the site of the former Pizza Express in Uxbridge Road, Hatch End, where it initially sought to serve alcohol until 1am from Sunday to Thursday and 2am on Friday and Saturday.

Following objections from people living nearby, it told Harrow Council’s licensing panel yesterday (Monday, February 15) it would be willing to bring the Sunday to Thursday time earlier to midnight and suggested a time of 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The restaurant, which would be next to a pub, also seeks to serve food in a back garden until 11pm, while a takeaway option has been proposed to run until 12am.

But these suggestions were criticised by many neighbours, who fear the new hours are still inappropriate.

Julian Maw, representing the Hatch End Association, said: “Residents are happy to adjust to change as long as it doesn’t destroy the pleasant, peaceful ambience of what I call the village.

“We’re not against a licence for the premises, but the late opening hours will cause nuisance to residents in the adjacent properties.

“And we still have concerns about the noise [from the garden] that will reach adjacent working residents who require undisturbed night conditions.”

The applicant agreed to several conditions put forward by authorities including Harrow Council’s licensing team and the Metropolitan Police.

These included the installation of an adequate CCTV system, the presence of a refused sales logbook and incident book, and responsibility for keeping noise at a level that will not “cause a nuisance to nearby residents”.

These also limited the number of people at the bar at any one time to 12 and the number of smokers outside to six, with all drinks to be consumed at tables.

Shankar Sivashankar, the agent representing the applicant, explained the restaurant is keen to “work with residents”, as well as the responsible authorities, during this venture.

“We believe, with the changes and the conditions, we would not be undermining the licensing objectives,” he said.

He added that, if the licence was approved, it could still be subject to reviews if “it doesn’t behave very well”.

A decision is not made during the meeting under Harrow Council’s procedures.

Panel chairman and Roxeth ward councillor Primesh Patel explained it will be given to all parties involved within five working days.