A POPULAR bar and restaurant has drawn up plans to expand next door.

Ten Green Bottles, in Rectory Grove, Leigh, has submitted an application to Southend Council to convert the empty shop next door.

Bosses at the live music venue want to merge the buildings by creating an access door between them.

Cathy Baker, 34, of Rectory Grove, said: “It’s a great venue, especially in the summer. I’d love to see it grow, as it’s always so packed in there with a great atmosphere.”

However Emma Howes, 42, of Broadway West, Leigh, said she did have some concerns about noise disruption from the business if it was granted permission to expand.

She said: “I live really nearby the Broadway and Rectory Grove and we’ve faced misery all this summer, so I will be objecting I’m afraid.

“Ten Green Bottles has live music on until midnight and we’ve quite often seen men with their trousers down urinating on the residential garages opposite the bar after closure.

“It is a problem that needs to be addressed first.”

No-one from Ten Green Bottles was available for comment. The council will decide on the plans by Friday, December 2.