Plans for a new cafe and wine bar in Amersham have upset neighbours who fear noise and disturbance will make their home lives "unbearable". 

The Liberal Democrats' former Amersham HQ at 11 Hill Avenue could be turned into a new cafe by day and bar by night called Eleven. 

Eleven would be a cafe during the day, serving hot and cold drinks, hot and cold sandwiches and snacks, and a bar during the evening hours, serving alcohol, mostly wine and light meals. 

The cafe/bar would have an open plan seating area and a small kitchen, and would have outdoor seating. 

But the plans have upset some of the neighbours, particularly those who live in the flats above the unit. 

Councillors will hear their concerns when they deliberate whether or not to grant Eleven a premises licence. 

The owners have applied to play recorded music on a sound system between 10am and 10pm every day, serve alcohol until 11.30pm on weekends and 11pm during the week, and stay open from 7am to 11pm Monday to thursday and 7am to 11.30pm Friday to Sunday. 

They also want to stay open until 1am on New Year's Eve. 

One nearby resident said the proposed opening times will "completely ruin my standard of life and sleep". 

Rachel Otterson wrote: "It seems to me that this proposal is completely unreasonable." 

Another neighbour, Joanne Robinson, outlined her concerns about refuse collections, noise and smoking. 

She wrote: "The hours of operation are a concern. Nowhere in Amersham has a license beyond 11pm.

"Given the residential considerations, the requested hours of operation seem excessive and cause concern that this could become an 'over subscribed' congregation area once everywhere else in Amersham is closed.

"I note the property has floor to ceiling sliding doors. In terms of a music/ alcohol license this needs to be considered as a separate item as this has the ability to additionally affect the level of noise travelling in to the residential flats and beyond."

Kate Walsh added: "To my knowledge nowhere else in Amersham is open that late and don’t believe it is necessary in this location. Village Mangal next door stop serving at 10.30pm and that is a reasonable time.

"I worry that if they are closing at 11.30pm that by the time customers and staff have left it will be closer to midnight.

"This application doesn’t allow for any day of peace and quiet, so if the closing times could be reduced that would be a bit more bearable.

"I can currently clearly hear conversations, moving of objects and music, and this is just a few people in the shop, let alone when it is full.

"Are there any extra measures that can be taken to help reduce that noise travelling up into my flat? This is when the windows are closed, the noise is much worse when I open my windows."

The bar owners said there will be CCTV in place and there will be signage informing customers to leave quietly and respect their neighbours, and soundproofing and air conditioning will be installed. 

The application will be discussed by the planning committee at Buckinghamshire Council on Wednesday, August 3, and a decision is usually given directly to the owners within weeks after that.