COMPLAINTS about disco nights at the Marine Theatre, Lyme Regis, could be jeopardising the theatre's entire public entertainments licence and may even mean the final curtain for the popular Legends visit Lyme events.

Comments from residents living near the theatre have prompted district council licensing officers to call for a public consultation before renewing the theatre's entertainment licence - the licence that allows big names like Terry Waite and Kiki Dee to appear at the town's biggest venue.

District council licensing officer Ryan Bransome said he had received five complaints.

He said: "Because the theatre's licence is up for renewal and because we've had these complaints, we have to put it out for public consultation."

Residents living in nearby Bay View Court expressed their concerns at a town council meeting about a planning application at the theatre.

They feared the application - which would increase the theatre's capacity from 250 to 350 - would result in more noise after the regular Friday night discos.

But theatre manager Peter Hammond said the application has nothing to do with discos - the numbers of which rarely reached capacity even in peak season.

The application would improve emergency exits and increase capacity for the popular entertainment nights such as the Legends visit Lyme series.

He said: "We're proposing double file access all the way round the back of the stage. In the event of an emergency we've got to get people out quickly."

He said the series was attracting more and more big name acts but many of them would not play to a capacity audience of only 250.

He said the Marine Theatre was actually a bigger venue than the Phoenix Theatre in Exeter, but because of its single file emergency exits could only play to an audience of 250.

He said: "We're asking for (room for) another hundred people on those occasions when a Legends concert will sell out. We've spent a long time developing the audience for the Legends concerts. If the theatre is going to survive it's got to bring in more big name performers."

Mr Hammond also reiterated his call for better police supervision at night in Lyme Regis, saying the theatre was suffering because of a lack of police presence after the discos.

Mr Hammond appealed for supporters of the theatre's events to write to West Dorset District Council, Stratton House, High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UZ to express their support.

Correspondence will be made available for public inspection so people should indicate in their letters if they do not wish their name and address to be publicly available. Details will always be circulated to the applicant and to members of the licensing committee.