THE boss of a West Linton restaurant has been told to “keep your neighbours happy”.

That advice to Iain Smith of the Old Bakehouse came from Willie Archibald, chairman of Scottish Borders Licensing Board.

“If you keep the neighbours happy then you’ll keep us happy,” added Councillor Archibald after his board agreed to allow live music to be played at the 70-seater Main Street eatery.

It did so after receiving an assurance from Stephen McGowan, a solicitor representing Tony Singh Ltd which bought the restaurant last year, that live performances would only take place during monthly dinner dances and that the music would stop by 11pm.

He also gave an undertaking that Mr Smith, who lives above the premises, and his staff would “carefully monitor” the volume of music to ensure it was not a nuisance to nearby residents.

“Hopefully this will give some comfort to those neighbours who have expressed concerns,” said Mr McGowan.

That was a reference to the nine letters of objection which the board received after the company applied for an amendment to its existing operating plan which had no provision for live music.

Up until May, however, such events were held regularly at the Old Bakehouse, prompting Hannah Amos, who lives next door, to complain to Scottish Borders Council.

As a result of that complaint, the omission in the operating plan was discovered – prompting last week’s application to which Ms Amos and eight other villagers objected.

Recalling the May incident, Ms Amos claimed the music from a rock band had gone on “till the wee small hours” and could be heard in every room of her stone built home, even with all double-glazed windows closed.

“I’m concerned the Bakehouse is attempting to turn into a pub,” she added.

Mr McGowan told the board his clients wished to “apologise unreservedly” for not observing the operating plan, claiming this had been a “genuine oversight”.

“As soon as this came to light, the live music stopped... and there is emphatically no intention now to turn it into a rock pub,” he stated.

He said Mr Smith had already attended this month’s meeting of West Linton Community Council and spoken informally to other residents to explain that he simply wanted to encourage more people into the restaurant by putting on a dinner dance of one Saturday a month with the live music ceasing at 11pm.

After Mr McGowan agreed to give a written undertaking to that effect and to explain how the volume of the music would be monitored, the board agreed to amend the restaurant’s operating plan accordingly.

Before issuing his entreaty over neighbour engagement, Councillor Archibald observed: “These premises are much valued in a village where two hotels have closed and been converted into flats.

“My only concern was about late night noise, but I feel this has been addressed.”