A CHILDREN’S charity has a second chance to win a premises licence today.

Northorpe Hall Child and Family Trust wants to hire out its historic barn for weddings and parties

Kirklees Council refused to give a licence to the Mirfield charity in November after residents objected to the plan.

But the hearing will be re-opened today after a “procedural impropriety” by council officers.

Tom Taylor is director of the Northorpe Hall trust, which helps young people with mental health problems.

He said yesterday: “I rang Kirklees after the decision last year to say that I wasn’t sure everything had gone as it should have done.

“There were letters of complaint from residents which came in after the deadline and the panel considered them.

“I never saw those letters. The council has offered us a new hearing.”

Northorpe Hall, which works with more than 500 children a year, aims to hire out its 17th Century barn for social functions to generate much-needed funds.

The charity is facing financial problems because 70% of its funding comes from Kirklees, the Government and the NHS – all of which are under pressure because of the public spending squeeze.

Northorpe Hall has already hosted several weddings and birthday parties using temporary event notices, which allow the sale of alcohol.

But the charity, which was set up on the site in 1963, wants a permanent premises licence, allowing it to put on more functions.

Residents persuaded the council’s Licensing Panel to refuse permission in November after complaining that functions at the Northorpe Lane venue had been too noisy.

But Mr Taylor said yesterday that the charity had amended its licence request.

“I have listened to the objections from our neighbours and I’m now proposing to have a licence for just Fridays and Saturdays, rather than for every day of the week,” he said.

“We’ve taken some steps to deal with some of the issues that people have raised. We’re keen to manage this properly and respond to people’s concerns.”

Mr Taylor added that the charity was getting better at hosting events.

“We had a number of events before Christmas which ran smoothly, including a birthday party and some Christmas dinners,” he said.

“I know there are some people implacably opposed to having any sort of licence, but there are other residents who support us.”

Kirklees has received 12 complaints from residents about the charity’s proposal.

The council has chosen to delete names and addresses of all the objectors from the Licensing Panel’s documents.