Karaoke booths could soon bring a whole new element to eating out at a Norwich fusion cuisine restaurant.

Hong Kong Fusion Restaurant and Bar, in Prince of Wales Road, has applied to vary its premises licence so it includes karaoke rooms and VIP suites offering bar services on its second floor.

The restaurant was given planning permission for the changes by Norwich City Council's planning committee in July.

The proposed plans are for five separate karaoke rooms, each with its own sound system, as well as a reception area and new toilets.

The ground and first floors will remain as part of the restaurant and the third floor as residential accommodation, but windows on the second floor will be sound-proofed to prevent noise pollution.

The premises is situated within the council's City Centre Leisure Area and Late Night Activity Zone, between Chicago's nightclub and New York Bar and Diner, so the restaurant's owners do not feel any noise problems will arise, saying 'the noise environment is consistently high' in the Prince of Wales Road area in their application.

The karaoke rooms are intended to be open 9pm to 4am daily, meaning there is unlikely to be any sound heard in the restaurant below, as there is generally no overlap in usage times.

The deadline for representations relating to the licence application is today.

If there are any objections to the licence variation then the application will be considered at the January meeting of the city council's licensing committee.