Local's tense state before noon (6)
I believe the answer is:
tavern
'local's' is the definition.
(local can mean a local pub)
'tense state before noon' is the wordplay.
'tense' becomes 't' (grammatical abbreviation).
'state' becomes 'aver' (both can mean to declare).
'before' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'noon' becomes 'n' (abbreviation for noon).
't'+'aver'+'n'='TAVERN'
(Other definitions for tavern that I've seen before include "Tap-house" , "An old inn or public house" , "Local" , "An old inn or hostelry" , "An old English pub" .)