A duo’s hopes of boosting a town centre’s nightlife with a new rock bar has been dashed amid fears over loud noise.

John Biggs and Simon Lock’s planning bid to overhaul an old Folkestone escape room into The Dracula Parrot gig venue attracted 49 objections in two months.

Last December, Folkestone and Hythe District Council’s licensing committee unanimously voted in favour of live music and late-night alcohol sales.

But a planning chief recently thwarted their venture, which would have seen punk, metal, ska and goth bands playing in the Sandgate Road venue’s basement.

Describing their disappointment, Mr Lock says the refusal has further spurred their enthusiasm to get the scheme off the ground.

“The licensing committee discussed the application and had no objections, but now the council has rejected us,” he says.

“The main reason we’re doing this is we want there to be a rock bar in Folkestone, which we feel the area is crying out for, and people constantly bolster that opinion and are massively in favour of this.

“We’re making the change we want to see, so it’s not purely an investment venture, it’s something we want to see happen.

“It is a labour of love and this decision just gives us more enthusiasm to stick with it and tough out the bumps in the road because it’s something we are passionate about.”

But since launching the application in late November it attracted 49 objections, with 43 signatures coming from residents of nearby Pleydell Court.

They fear a potential rise of anti-social behaviour and nuisance noise from the late-night establishment, formerly Leas Lift Lockout.

“The premises are in the centre of a predominantly residential area - No matter how well run, or how many security staff are employed, the nature of a drinking establishment is to sell as much alcohol as possible,” Bronwen Drake writes.

“There are implied risks in allowing such an establishment in the area proposed, and there is a very real risk of disturbance from music, shouting and fighting.”

The pair have waited on tenterhooks since officially launching the planning scheme - but a council chief rejected it in January.

“The proximity of neighbouring residential users to the site and in the absence of a noise and vibration impact assessment, it has not been demonstrated that amenities of neighbours would be safeguarded,” their report states.

Mr Biggs and Mr Lock had previously agreed to install soundproofing to minimise disruption to nearby residents and vowed live music would not be played until all sound assessments had been completed.

The pair have now appealed to the Planning Inspectorate hoping to overturn the decision.

Similar noise concerns had been raised in Dover earlier this year, where the pair saw their plans to open in Snargate Street blocked amid fears neighbours would be “forced to listen to rock music late into the night”.

Last year, Mr Biggs spoke about the challenges facing Folkestone’s music scene, particularly in light of the closure of The Chambers in December.

Owners of the popular venue in Cheriton Place cited social changes, lockdowns, and the cost-of-living crisis as factors behind its struggles.

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Folkestone was named a “music town” five years ago but the number of venues has since dwindled.

Over the years, the town has hosted gigs from some of the world’s biggest bands, including Fleetwood Mac and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, with Folkestone resident Noel Redding playing the bass guitar for the latter.

A decision on the duo’s appeal is expected later this year.