OXFORD Brookes University is seeking permission to serve alcohol at the campus bar in its showpiece new building in Headington. The licence is for the student union bar, as well as the union hall, union square and open forum – which could all be used for functions – in the new John Henry Brookes building, which forms part of the £132m Gipsy Lane campus redevelopment.

If approved, the licence would apply from Sunday to Thursday, 9am to 11pm and Friday to Saturday, 9am to midnight from November 1.

The 9am licence would allow for activities like films, student plays and live music in the building.

But, apart from specific events like graduation ceremonies, alcohol would not be served before 11am. The application says that the student union bar would have a maximum capacity of 100 people.

Some residents living opposite the campus have raised concerns about potential extra noise from the bar and the student union has offered to meet them to discuss the proposal.

Gipsy Lane resident John Chaundy, 77, said: “I don’t think it’s a good idea. It will encourage more childish behaviour among students.”

John Reeves, 87, added: “I am not very happy with it as it could make the students behave badly on the street.”

City councillor for Churchill ward Susan Brown, pictured, said: “I am aware that there are some objections. “There are issues particularly around people leaving the area and being a nuisance to the neighbours.

“It’s about trying to find a balance which satisfies everyone.”

President of Oxford Brookes Students’ Union Joel Holmes, 26, was eager to reassure those living nearby. He said: “We’re not going to run club nights at the building. It’s just going to be for a small bar on campus.

“It will be great having a bar on site and will be a quiet place where people go to drink.

“I am keen to sit down and talk with residents’ groups about any fears they may have.”

Oxford Brookes spokesman Matthew Butler said: “Only 20 per cent of the building is for social use and so while some alcohol will be served, the building is predominately a library and teaching facility.”

Oxford Brookes had a licensing application for the whole Gipsy Lane campus accepted in January 2012, but it did not include the John Henry Brookes building as it had not been completed at that time.