Latest news with #cityCentre
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Bar fears noise complaints from planned flats
A music venue which hosts heavy metal gigs and punk bands has said it feared becoming embroiled in a noise row with residents of a new city centre tower block. The owners of Rebellion on Whitworth Street West in Manchester said they "cannot afford to fight" a legal battle if there were complaints. The application, from property firm Glenbrook, to build a £118m 44-storey development next to the bar has been approved by Manchester City Council. The local authority said it was aware of "sensitivities relating to the proximity of Rebellion to this development, and the potential noise nuisance which could be created in the future" and work was ongoing to ensure a solution. The venue's co-owner Alex Kostyakov said an appropriate acoustic assessment had not been completed and he had not been consulted by developers. "They did [the assessment] on a Friday and Saturday night and didn't event mention that we're an all-week venue in the planning submission," he said. "We have heavy metal gigs on Monday nights, people moving in aren't going to be expecting that," the 31-year-old from Swinton said. "If you've got a Sunday off and you're trying to relax in your flat and we've got a loud punk bank playing it's not going to work. "It's about quality of life for the resident not just us." Manchester City Council said a clause in the planning agreement would ensure that work would only begin when it was "satisfied that it can take place without any noise nuisance being detected in future properties". However, Mr Kostyakov, who has co-owned the venue since 2021, said there was no way to know if there would be noise issues until residents had moved in. "The worry is that residents move in and the council turns round and says we have to pay for £50,000 worth of soundproofing," he said. "Or if they say we have to be ending gigs at 10, for example, we will lose a big chunk of our income. "That would basically be the end of us, we'd have to shut." He said he was concerned the venue could end up in the same situation as Northern Quarter venue Night and Day Cafe, which was subject to a three-year legal battle with the council over noise complaints in 2021. "Our pockets are nowhere near as deep as Night and Day," he said. "We both have other jobs because running a music venue isn't enough." Mr Kostyakov is calling for an amendment to the planning permission requiring the developer to take responsibility for "any remediation and acoustic works" in future. The BBC has contacted Glenbrook for a comment. The Whitworth Street West development had been approved last month but the application had to be reassessed after the Music Venue True (MVT) submitted an objection on the basis of its proximity to Rebellion. The MVT said: "Rebellion is not only well-loved locally and nationally, it is an irreplaceable part of Manchester's live music infrastructure." It said the risk was "not hypothetical" as there were "obvious correlations between noise complaints and venues closing". "Responsible planning should create places where people want to live because of the cultural life on their doorstep, not in spite of it," it added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. Plans for city's tallest tower hit by admin setback Music Venue Trust Rebellion
BBC News
5 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Irreplaceable' gig venue fears noise complaints from new flats
A music venue which hosts heavy metal gigs and punk bands has said it feared becoming embroiled in a noise row with residents of a new city centre tower block. The owners of Rebellion on Whitworth Street West in Manchester said they "cannot afford to fight" a legal battle if there were complaints. The application, from property firm Glenbrook, to build a £118m 44-storey development next to the bar has been approved by Manchester City local authority said it was aware of "sensitivities relating to the proximity of Rebellion to this development, and the potential noise nuisance which could be created in the future" and work was ongoing to ensure a solution. The venue's co-owner Alex Kostyakov said an appropriate acoustic assessment had not been completed and he had not been consulted by developers. "They did [the assessment] on a Friday and Saturday night and didn't event mention that we're an all-week venue in the planning submission," he said."We have heavy metal gigs on Monday nights, people moving in aren't going to be expecting that," the 31-year-old from Swinton said."If you've got a Sunday off and you're trying to relax in your flat and we've got a loud punk bank playing it's not going to work."It's about quality of life for the resident not just us." Manchester City Council said a clause in the planning agreement would ensure that work would only begin when it was "satisfied that it can take place without any noise nuisance being detected in future properties".However, Mr Kostyakov, who has co-owned the venue since 2021, said there was no way to know if there would be noise issues until residents had moved in. "The worry is that residents move in and the council turns round and says we have to pay for £50,000 worth of soundproofing," he said."Or if they say we have to be ending gigs at 10, for example, we will lose a big chunk of our income."That would basically be the end of us, we'd have to shut." 'Well-loved locally' He said he was concerned the venue could end up in the same situation as Northern Quarter venue Night and Day Cafe, which was subject to a three-year legal battle with the council over noise complaints in 2021."Our pockets are nowhere near as deep as Night and Day," he said. "We both have other jobs because running a music venue isn't enough."Mr Kostyakov is calling for an amendment to the planning permission requiring the developer to take responsibility for "any remediation and acoustic works" in future. The BBC has contacted Glenbrook for a Whitworth Street West development had been approved last month but the application had to be reassessed after the Music Venue True (MVT) submitted an objection on the basis of its proximity to MVT said: "Rebellion is not only well-loved locally and nationally, it is an irreplaceable part of Manchester's live music infrastructure."It said the risk was "not hypothetical" as there were "obvious correlations between noise complaints and venues closing"."Responsible planning should create places where people want to live because of the cultural life on their doorstep, not in spite of it," it added. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.
BBC News
19-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Problem' for Lincoln city centre as House of Fraser closes
Commercial property experts told the BBC they believed it would be difficult to find a new tenant for the House of Fraser store on Lincoln's High Street, when it closes this has been a department store on the site, which commands a prominent position in the city centre, since the early 20th 2019, planning permission was granted to demolish the building and replace it with a 150-bed hotel, but no work was carried out and its future is now say the shop is due to close on 23 May. Fraser Group has been approached for comment but has yet to reply. Chartered surveyor Steven Spivey has worked in Lincoln for more than 20 years and said it was a "real problem" for the city centre to lose a big "anchor tenant" like House of Fraser."It leaves a big void. It's such a big building that needs to be occupied. It can't sit there doing nothing. It's too prominent for that."However, Mr Spivey said finding a new tenant would be a "challenge"."Retailers don't want such large buildings any more and other users want purpose-built open plan space," he said. "This is an older building in the city centre and it's difficult to redevelop, being right beside a road." For more than 100 years, the site on Lincoln High Street has been home to a thriving department store, initially called Mawer and University of Glasgow holds a collection of documents detailing its history as part of its House of Fraser and Collingham was incorporated as a limited company in 1900. It expanded, acquiring neighbouring properties and, by 1930, it owned the whole of the current shop gained a modern, box-like facade when it was refurbished in the 1980, the company was bought by House of Fraser, trading first as Binns before adopting its current name. The 2019 plans by the owners of the building, Halifax Pension Nominees Limited, included a four-star hotel with restaurant, bar and leisure facilities. Kieron Manning, assistant director of planning at City of Lincoln Council, said planning permission had since lapsed. "At this point in time, the city council has not received any new applications for the site," he said. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Couple who tried to claim £180k for 'psychiatric injury' over noisy beep of car park intercom just inches from their rented city centre apartment have case thrown out
A couple who launched a lawsuit for 'psychiatric injury' over the 'beep' of a car park intercom inches from their city centre apartment have had their case thrown out by a judge. Zhengfang Huang and his girlfriend, Jingjing Chen, lost their £180,000 claim for damages after Judge Melissa Clarke ruled hey should have 'expected' noise when they rented a flat in the middle of Brighton. The couple took legal action after claiming their lives were made a misery due to noise emanating from the car park next door to their home in Brighton's historic Lanes district. The only window in their rented flat faces onto a pedestrian accessway into the busy parking area, with an alarm and intercom only a few inches below causing them constant noise nuisance, they told London 's High Court. The couple claimed their sleep, peace and mental health had been shattered by the regular 'beep' of the intercom and ticket scanning machine 'a few inches' from their window. But Judge Clarke threw out their £180,000 damages bid, telling them: 'They should have expected this when they rented a city centre apartment on the ground floor.' She also rejected the couple's claim for a temporary injunction closing the car park entrance, but said their injunction case could continue at Brighton County Court. Giving her judgment, Judge Clarke said the couple had rented the flat in the Green Diamond Building, in Brighton's busy and historic city centre Lanes district, famous for its Georgian architecture and party atmosphere, fuelled by stag and hen parties. Their only window opens onto a pedestrian walkway into the car park in Little East Street, which is operated by Brighton and Hove Council. 'It has alarms attached to the walls of the flat which forms the property,' she said. 'The complaints start with the alarms, which were faulty and which the claimants accept have since been rectified. 'The intercom, which customers use to scan tickets, is a few inches below their window. It beeps. It is used by customers to speak to the control centre of the car park. 'They complain of the door to the pedestrian entrance banging. Customers and third parties gather by the entrance to the car park. Their conversations can be heard through the window of the flat. 'They say they only have one window. They can't open it without noxious noise and smells coming in. 'They say their sleep has been disturbed, not only by the alarms which seem to have ceased, but also by the intercom and people coming in and out, shouting late at night. They say this has had an effect on their mental health, in particular on Mr Huang.' The couple had already complained to Brighton Council, which fixed the faulty alarm and deactivated the intercom, although the couple claim it has since been reactivated. They then sued the council, seeking damages for 'psychiatric injury' and a permanent injunction, closing the pedestrian entrance into the car park, pointing out there is another seconds away. The case reached court last week as they tried to have the access closed pending resolution of their claim as a whole at a later date. But refusing them a temporary injunction, Judge Clarke said closing the entrance would have a more detrimental impact on the public than leaving it open would have on the couple. 'They should have known the flat had a single window which opened onto a small lane to a car park entrance where equipment was already installed,' she said. 'In my judgment, it is not just and convenient to grant the injunction at this stage. 'That's because I consider that closing a car park entrance to the public, even though there's another one round the corner, is something which will be more inconvenient to the public and to the council than the inconvenience to the claimants of listening to a door banging and possibly an intercom being used.' She transferred their claim for an injunction to Brighton County Court, but at the same time 'struck out' their compensation claim for the alleged impact on their mental health due to a lack of evidence. 'Medical documentation has been attached, but no medical report served with the particulars of claim,' she said. 'Their case has been given a value of £180,000, but it clearly is not worth £180,000. 'There's no possibility of it being worth that.' The decision means the couple's bid to close the car park entrance will now go to the county court, but their damages claim for psychiatric injury is struck out.
