Philippa Benachour, who lives on Park Square, has spoken out over the noise of people shouting and swearing late at night in the beer garden of the Britannia 101 pub on Ullswater Road.

Philippa said: "When we moved into our property in September 2006, we had all the relevant checks done to make sure there weren't any problems with noise. In November 2006, a beer garden was built on the pubs existing car park, and that's when the noise became unbearable.

"I have a young child whose room is at the back of the house, and even with double glazed windows, the noise floats over the back fence and we can hear people sometimes until 2am.

"In spring 2007, planning was granted for an entrance door and railings on the side of the pub leading up Park Square. This has turned into another beer garden, meaning that we now have to put up with noise at the front and back of our property.

The families concern was raised after the Lancaster Guardian unveiled plans by pub licensee Richard Dow, to extend the Sun and Moon Restaurant into the adjoining property, which is owned by Thwaites Brewery.

"This would be a complete disaster for us, in terms of quality of life and our investment in our property. What was supposed to be a dream house has turned into a nightmare, and there seems to be nothing we can do about it.

"Mr Dow has responded fairly, and offered to install soundproof windows in our sons bedroom, however had we known what we were in for, we would definitely not have bought the property in the first place."

"I believe that this kind of late night 'service' is better suited to the city centre, and not to a residential area where children and adults need to sleep in order to get on with school or work the next day."

What do you think? Should residential areas be just that and any pub expansion limited to the city centre?

Post your views here.