Regent in legal spat with Luminar over new opening

Regent Inns is considering an appeal after its plans for a £4m Walkabout in Oxford were blocked by rival Luminar.​ Regent, which had applied for a provisional justices licence, claims there were no objections from either police or local community representatives to its plans to convert the site from a Chinese restaurant to a Walkabout bar. "It was only Luminar which raised objections at the last minute," said spokeswoman Vanessa Maydon. "It also did this 18 months ago when we applied for a licence to open a Walkabout in Durham."

And the pub group is currently taking legal advice on a statement issued by Luminar which it considers "damaging to our reputation".

However, Clare de Silva at Luminar countered by saying that the company only objected along with local residents and there was no ulterior motive.

In a statement Luminar said: "Magistrates have listened to the comments made by both local residents and Luminar, that the opening of this venue could have led to a number of dispersal problems, antisocial behaviour and disorder in the town centre."