Brian and Margaret Bailey, owners of The Hideout and Thai House in West Road, Easthampstead Park, were given the thumbs up to convert its existing licence and vary its new licence at a meeting of the borough council's licensing panel yesterday (Tuesday).

The decision - made by a panel of councillors - means the premises will be allowed by law to serve alcohol 24-hours a day, seven days a week, when the new licensing act comes into force in November.

But owner Mr Bailey, who has been in charge of the venue for over 20 years, says he has no intention of round-the-clock opening.

He said: "We have no intention to open 24 hours a day each day, we just want to have an option to do so if we want to.

"The Government offered 24-hour licences to suitable premises and my argument was this was a suitable premises.

"This place is unique - it is set in 80 acres of land, has 400 car parking spaces and no residents nearby. The way we run things is well known, people know how I run it and they know I do not cause a nuisance. It is a way of life for my family.

"We attract an awful lot of special interest groups."

For the past 26 years the venue has been used for naturist gatherings, attracting visitors from across the UK and Europe.

The application faced strong opposition from Bracknell Police, and Chf Insp Rob Povey - head of Bracknell Police - presented his objections at the meeting.

Chf Insp Povey said his main concerns were the application would attract groups of intoxicated people after pubs in Bracknell and Wokingham close, and he questioned how customers would get home in the early hours of the morning.

He suggested control measures, such as restricting the last time of entry, would minimise the impact of any additional licensing hours.

"We are trying to put forward our solution in the early stage rather than come back with a list of complaints," he said.

"Not having a last time of entry seems to be building in a conflict."

He also quizzed the owners on how they would react with groups of rowdy people arriving in the early hours of the morning, and suggested the police were likely to be involved.

But a panel made up of councillor Marc Brunel-Walker, councillor Alvin Finch and councillor Ian Leake, after clarifying some of the conditions, chose to approve the application.

Cllr Brunel-Walker said: "There is no evidence that it will cause any problems, and there is no evidence that things will change in the future. It is a good establishment."

Speaking after the decision was taken, Mr Bailey said he was really pleased and it was too early to indicate any opening hours or patterns.

"It is early days yet, we have only just had the decision so now it is time to consider the options," he said.

"The opportunities now are really up to the imagination.

"I think the proof will be in the pudding. If I don't keep people under control then I will lose what I have achieved today."

Chf Ins Povey added: "We made representations to put in place control measures to prevent an increase in violent crime,

criminal damage and anti social behaviour.

"The committee felt that we had insufficient evidence to demonstrate this will happen and we respect their position. Clearly we will monitor the situation and if there are any problems we will act upon them."