Shop boss fears live music will mean lights out

SELF-CONFESSED eccentric Val Martin has been selling historic crystal chandeliers imported from the great houses of Europe from the antique shop she also calls home for nearly 40 years.

- NICK JACKSON

But the dog-loving 82-year-old says she may be on the verge of quitting as she faces being sandwiched between two venues offering live music and an ‘onslaught of horrendous noise’.

Val’s Pomeranian pooch runs round the luscious south-facing garden of her quaint four-storey property on the edge of Hale village centre. “I never imagined ever having to leave here,” she said. “I’ve been here 38 years.”

Trafford council’s licensing subcommittee agreed this week for the new owner of a bar to be known as Hale Tavern on Ashley Road to be open until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays and until midnight from Sundays to Thursdays in premises that were once an Italian restaurant – right next to Val.