Harringay residents are involved in a battle with nightspot owners over a plan to keep a venue open to 4.30am at weekends.

The Athena Palace banqueting hall, at 657 Green Lanes, is applying to Haringey Council for a music and dance licence which will also let it open until 2am on Sunday to Thursday.

But residents living near the premises say they have been plagued by noise and disturbance since the venue opened four years ago.

They have formed the Effingham and Fairfax Road Residents' Association (EFRA) to fight their case, and have gathered a 200-signature petition against the application.

They argue that the applicants are trying to turn the venue into a fully-fledged nightclub.

And they claim one of the three applicants, Christakis Kashourides, should not even be allowed to be a licensee.

They say that under the council's own rules Mr Kashourides is not allowed to apply because he is bankrupt and so cannot hold any legal title to the premises.

The title is currently held in the name of his wife, Panayiota, who is a co-applicant.

Mr Kashourides was declared bankrupt in November 1996. There is no allegation that his personal financial standing is an issue in itself.

Mr Kashourides rejected the claim that he should not be allowed to apply. "The licencing laws say it's up to the council to determine who can be the licensee. I'm the licensee and have been for the past four years," he said.

"I've never been arrested or charged with anything. I've done nothing wrong and nothing has been proved against me. None of this is an issue.

"We've never had trouble or noise at the Palace. It is not a nightclub -- it's families that come here."

But EFRA chairwoman Odette Gibson said: "We have been suffering this for four years now. The noise is just unbelievable.

"This is a residential area and we can't cope with that many people streaming out at 4.30 in the morning."

The council will decide whether to award the licence at a mee

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