Carlisle City Council is facing a £5,000 legal bill after officials served a legal notice about late-night noise at a hotel on the wrong person.

Officials formally served the abatement order after residents living near to Dalston Hall Hotel, on the outskirts of Carlisle, complained about loud music from wedding receptions.

After investigating, officials agreed the music constituted a “statutory nuisance” and was likely to be repeated.

But when the notice was formally delivered, on July 22, it was in the name of Dalston Hall Hotel Limited and not the company that holds the premises licence, Hot Chefs Limited, Carlisle's magistrates' court heard.

After hearing arguments from lawyers on both sides, and confirmation that the notice has now been withdrawn, District Judge Gerald Chalk ruled that Carlisle City Council should pay the legal costs.

Clare Liddle, for the council, conceded the notice was served on the wrong legal entity but she argued that it would be wrong to make the authority pay for carrying out a statutory duty.

Imposing costs in such cases, she said, could deter local authorities from carrying out their statutory duties.

Mrs Liddle explained that the council official who drew up the statutory notice after the investigation failed to spot that the company whose name he put on the paperwork was now dormant.

“It was a mistake made by the pressure of working and time,” she said.

She added that the directors of the company named on the notice, and the correct company – Hot Chefs Limited – were in fact the same people, Jan and Karen Meyer.

She added: “The decision to serve the abatement notice was not made improperly.”

Mike Robson, for Dalston Hall Hotel, said that his client had incurred costs are a result of the incorrect abatement notice – including hiring sound engineers - and there had been no court ruling on the merits of the council's notice.

Given that the notice was served on the wrong legal entity, due to a lack of investigation, and that it came completely out of the blue, Dalston Hall Hotel should not pay for the case, he said.

In his ruling, Judge Chalk said: “Dalston Hall Hotel have been put to expense to avoid this notice, which has now been withdrawn.

“The withdrawal of the notice was not done on its merits, but simply because the wrong name was identified by the city council.

“I have decided therefore that it is clear that Dalston Hall Hotel are entitled to their costs. They had prepared a full case and the time used for that case has not been excessive so I order those costs to be paid in full.”

With VAT, the total costs involved are £5,100. Most of those who live near to Dalston Hall Hotel live in a nearby caravan park.

The council will now review the issue and then decide its next course of action.

Nobody from Dalston Hall Hotel was available for comment at the time of going to press.