THE decision to grant the Mechanics' Institute an alcohol and entertainment licence has forced residents to seek legal advice.

Swindon Council's licensing committee ruled on Wednesday that owner Mathew Singh would be allowed to sell alcohol at the Victorian building despite three written objections.

Mr Singh applied for the right to sell alcohol from 8am to 2am daily, extending to 3am on Friday and Saturday, anywhere in the building.

He also sought to play live music daily at any time between 8am to 11.30pm.

Mr Singh, pictured right, said he submitted the licensing application to get plans to regenerate the building up and running.

But a resident living in Taunton Street, members of the New Mechanics Trust and London Street resident Martha Parry say they are prepared to carry on fighting.

"The report did not include the actual application, and misrepresented its contents," said Martha, pictured left.

"All three of us parties believe that misleading statements were made about each of us and our motives, which we were denied the opportunity to clarify and correct.

"Only as things moved along did we come to understand what was permitted by the Licensing Act.

"It was our first effort to deal with licensing under the Act. We were misrepresented, and were not permitted to defend ourselves."

She added: "With the trust being evicted from its base at the former railway museum, and with the alternative offer of the Central Community Centre being withdrawn, it looked to us like an effort to disallow our status as a similar business with experience to share, not the way they took it as vexatious'."

The committee had to decide if the written objections were valid in licensing terms before any decision could be taken on the application.

But borough solicitor Phil Worth told Mrs Parry and fellow objectors after the meeting that the licensing panel was not required to base their decision on their concerns.

He said: "The panel decided the objections raised were not relevant or valid in law.

"Therefore they didn't need to make decisions on the objections that would only occur if there were relevant objections to be considered."