MORE than 600 people are backing a bid to reopen a city pub.

Max Greenwood wants a licence for The Rockstone in Bevois Valley and faces a council panel on Thursday after objections to his plans to open beyond 11pm.

He has spent more than £600,000 buying and renovating the former Bevois Castle in Onslow Road, which has stood empty for 18 months.

The trained chef said he wants to create a “country pub in the city” aimed at non-students.

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But police and environmental health officers have raised concerns also put forward by some residents that allowing a late licence will see more crime and antisocial behaviour.

Max has since dropped his application to open until 2am at weekends, but argues he should be able to serve until midnight.

He said he had spent several months discussing concerns with residents and has adapted his plans to reduce noise and cut the risk of problems, as well as installing CCTV cameras, which he believes will improve safety in neighbouring streets.

Max, who previously ran the St James Tavern in Winchester, said: “There are only two other pubs that I know of in the town centre that have 11pm licences. I want to be somewhere for people to go who don’t want to hang around with students.

“I’m not selling cans or bottles, I’ll have no pool table, no jukebox and no TVs.”

Max has got support from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). Southern Hampshire chairman Andrew Dyer said: “In a time when so many pubs are closing and businesses are generally struggling a new enterprise that will add to the local community and economy should be actively encouraged.”

Southampton City Council has received 27 letters of objection to the application.

Hampshire police said there were concerns about the “cumulative impact” of bars in Bevois Valley, saying in its response to the council: “The area is saturated with licensed premises and is stressed due to the amount of premises and incidents that occur there.”

Within 48 hours of launching a petition to support his bid, although he admits it is now outside of the official consultation, Max gathered more than 600 signatures.

He said: “After seeing the level of support I am really looking forward to opening and getting on with serving my community. Hopefully the board will see that I am not going to cause trouble and that this is something that Southampton really wants.”