11 hours ago
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.
