Latest news with #DavidBartl
Daily Mail
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
We opened a bar five years ago and have been bombarded with hundreds of complaints... our petty neighbours need to know we're going nowhere
The owners of a popular bar say they have been pushed to breaking point after their business was bombarded with hundreds of petty complaints from neighbours. David Bartl, Jacob Bettio and Lachlan Taylor opened Holmes Hall in 2020, a licensed 300-seat venue built on the site of a once derelict supermarket next to the bustling Moonee Ponds train station in Melbourne 's inner north-west. 'For the past four years, we've been relentlessly targeted by a small group of nearby residents,' the owners said in a post on Instagram. 'We're talking hundreds of complaints, 30-plus Freedom of Information requests, multiple Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal appeals, and attempts to revoke our planning permit entirely. 'We're a local venue doing everything right. And we're exhausted.' The trio said they were 'done staying quiet' about the growing trend impacting small venues across Melbourne. 'Good operators are being dragged through endless red tape and legal attacks by individuals trying to shut them down, not because they've done something wrong, but because they simply exist,' they said. Mr Bartl told The Age one household used video surveillance equipment to monitor the venue and file their complaints. Most of the complaints stemmed from two neighbouring households that had consistently refused to participate in any form of mediation. 'We're constantly on edge because we're always having to defend ourselves against the pettiest complaints you've ever heard of,' Mr Bartl said. 'It has been really obsessive behaviour over the last five years.' Among the complaints made to Moonee Valley City Council were deliveries not being conducted in prescribed loading zones and waste collections on public holidays. Neighbours also complained patrons used an incorrect door as an exit, alcohol was being consumed outside permitted areas, and the music was too loud. Other claims included illegal parking and signs for weekly events, such as drag bingo and tipsy trivia, being stuck on walls in contravention of the bar's planning permit. In 2022, the venue was the subject of VCAT action seeking to revoke its planning permit. The tribunal dismissed the application, arguing it lacked substance and was misconceived. The owners said the petty complaints had caused psychological harm to staff and had been a financial drain on the business as they spent countless hours defending their operations. 'Across Victoria, especially in inner-city and mixed-use zones, hospitality venues are increasingly vulnerable to individuals weaponising public processes, serial complaints, FOI misuse, planning objections, all without meaningful checks or consequences,' they said in an open letter to Victorian Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson. The owners said there was an urgent need for reform to manage 'vexatious' serial complainants to ensure small venues were protected, not punished by the systems designed to regulate them. The matter has been referred to Victoria Police. A Moonee Valley City Council spokesman declined to comment about the complaints raised by Holmes Hall. 'As these relate to regulatory and enforcement functions, Moonee Valley City Council will not be making further public comment,' he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Inner-north bar ‘relentlessly targeted' with hundreds of ‘petty' complaints from residents
The owners of a bar in Melbourne's inner-north say they are exhausted after defending their venue from hundreds of 'petty' complaints from neighbours, but that they're 'not going down quietly'. 'For the past four years, we've been relentlessly targeted by a small group of nearby residents,' the owners of Moonee Ponds restaurant and bar Holmes Hall said in a post on social media. David Bartl, Jacob Bettio and Lachlan Taylor said their bar has been subjected to hundreds of complaints, including more than 30 freedom of information requests, multiple appeals to the Victorian Civil Appeals Tribunal (VCAT) and attempts to revoke their planning permit entirely. 'We're a local venue doing everything right,' they said in a post on Instagram. 'And we're exhausted.' The owners said the complaints were part of a broader issue affecting small, community-minded venues across Melbourne. 'Good operators are being dragged through endless red tape and legal attacks by individuals trying to shut them down – not because they've done something wrong, but because they simply exist,' they said. The Age has been provided with copies of some of the complaints made to Moonee Valley City Council. They include accusations of deliveries not being conducted in prescribed loading zones, waste collections occurring on public holidays, patrons using an incorrect door as an exit, alcohol being consumed outside permitted areas, music exceeding permitted volumes, seating not being in accordance with permits, illegal parking by patrons, pressure-washing equipment causing waste water to enter stormwater assets and signs for 'Drag Bingo' and 'Tipsy Trivia' on walls in contravention of the pub's planning permit. Former footballer and coach Danielle Laidley is a regular at Holmes Hall and lives nearby. She said she had never heard any noise or ruckus coming from the venue.
The Age
a day ago
- The Age
Inner-north bar ‘relentlessly targeted' with hundreds of ‘petty' complaints from residents
The owners of a bar in Melbourne's inner-north say they are exhausted after defending their venue from hundreds of 'petty' complaints from neighbours, but that they're 'not going down quietly'. 'For the past four years, we've been relentlessly targeted by a small group of nearby residents,' the owners of Moonee Ponds restaurant and bar Holmes Hall said in a post on social media. David Bartl, Jacob Bettio and Lachlan Taylor said their bar has been subjected to hundreds of complaints, including more than 30 freedom of information requests, multiple appeals to the Victorian Civil Appeals Tribunal (VCAT) and attempts to revoke their planning permit entirely. 'We're a local venue doing everything right,' they said in a post on Instagram. 'And we're exhausted.' The owners said the complaints were part of a broader issue affecting small, community-minded venues across Melbourne. 'Good operators are being dragged through endless red tape and legal attacks by individuals trying to shut them down – not because they've done something wrong, but because they simply exist,' they said. The Age has been provided with copies of some of the complaints made to Moonee Valley City Council. They include accusations of deliveries not being conducted in prescribed loading zones, waste collections occurring on public holidays, patrons using an incorrect door as an exit, alcohol being consumed outside permitted areas, music exceeding permitted volumes, seating not being in accordance with permits, illegal parking by patrons, pressure-washing equipment causing waste water to enter stormwater assets and signs for 'Drag Bingo' and 'Tipsy Trivia' on walls in contravention of the pub's planning permit. Former footballer and coach Danielle Laidley is a regular at Holmes Hall and lives nearby. She said she had never heard any noise or ruckus coming from the venue.
