A MUSIC venue in Cowley Road will not be able to open later after plans were refused by Oxford City Council.

The O2 Academy had applied to stay open for an extra four hours until 4am on Bank Holiday Sundays and open an hour earlier, at 6pm, every day except Sunday.

Owners also wanted the club to stay open to 6am on May 1 for May Morning celebrations.

City council officers had recommended approval for the proposal, and Thames Valley Police had raised no objections.

But last night the west area planning committee threw the plans out due to concerns about crime, community safety, noise and nuisance.

The decision was originally due to be made by council officers behind closed doors but it was “called in” for a public hearing due to residents objections.

The committee refused the plans by a vote of six to one.

Councillor Colin Cook said: “We have a duty to reduce the amount of crime and it is well recognised that there is a strong link between alcohol and crime.”