THE owners of an Ilkley night club have been threatened with prosecution for allegedly creating a noise nuisance for neighbours.

A meeting in Bradford yesterday heard that environmental health officers intended to take legal proceedings against the owners of Il Trovatore on grounds of contravening a noise abatement notice.

The premises on Leeds Road, have been the subject of noise nuisance complaints dating back many years.

But a report to the Licensing Panel says that complaints were received in May last year about the noise of music from the premises..

Environmental Health officers issued a noise abatement notice in June and in a letter to the Panel they say it was breached between 12.50am and 1.30am in November, 2004.

The letter says: "The owners of the nightclub were invited to attend a PACE (Police and Criminal Evidence Act) interview, which they failed to attend.

"These questions were requested by the club owners to be sent out by post. We are still awaiting their response to these questions; the response date expired on January 20, 2005.

"At present this department is proposing to undertake legal proceedings against the night club owners for a contravention of the noise abatement notice."

And the council's environmental health department says it has serious objections to the granting of an application to renew the Trovatore's entertainment licence.

Jose Lorente Mora, of Keighley and Alfredo Steven Ciesla, of Skipton, have applied to renew the club's entertainment licence.

Before the meeting, Mr Ciesla, the licensee of Il Trovatore, said the club installed additional sound proofing last year and he could see no reason why the licence should not be renewed.

He said: "We have been soundproofing it. The windows facing the main road have been soundproofed. Sound levels have been set at an acceptable level. I should think it will go through - I can see no reason why not."

But a report to the meeting says that four letters of objection had been received from local residents to the application and the main grounds for the objection were noise and disturbance.

Before the meeting, Ilkley district and parish Councillor Anne Hawkesworth said that she would hate to see the night club having to close down.

But after speaking to environmental health officers she said: "What they need to do is turn the music down at the right time."

Speaking before the meeting, district councillor Martin Smith said that there had been earlier complaints about the behaviour of customers leaving the nightclub but they had tailed off recently.

PC Mark Newton, of Ilkley police, said that the night club attracted no more complaints than any other drinking place in the town.

He said: "People complain and we get calls around the town. It would be unfair to single out anywhere or put the blame at the door of the Trav.

"It is a late night establishment which has music and has people who are in drink around it. It is going to attract calls from time to time."

The Licensing Panel was expected to reach a decision on whether or not to renew the licence late last night, after the Gazette went to press.