Latest news with #noisecomplaints
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Pubs and venues to be protected from noise complaints
Pubs and music venues will be given protection from noise complaints under planned changes to licensing the reforms, developers seeking to build near venues would be told to soundproof buildings, while permissions would be fast-tracked for new businesses or expanded outdoor areas in designated government hopes the changes will also make it easier to open new bars in disused shops, as well as promote outdoor drinking, al fresco dining and live the government said the changes would bring "vibrancy" to struggling town centres, the Conservatives said Labour's tax policy was responsible for "crippling the hospitality industry" in the first place. It comes after several well-loved pubs and music venue were left facing possible closure over noise complaints, leading to campaigns in some December, Moth Club, an independent music and comedy venue in east London, launched a petition challenging plans to build a new block of flats next door, over fears it could be shut down."Without being able to make noise, we can't make money," its manager told the BBC at the Manchester, venue Night and Day Cafe was subject to a three-year legal battle with the council over noise complaints lodged by a neighbour in was eventually permitted to continue operating as a nightclub with noise-limiting restrictions in government also hopes a planned reform of nationwide licensing regulations will help to reverse the decline in the pub industry by making it easier to open new British Beer and Pub Association says the number of pubs in the UK has steadily decreased every year since 2000, and estimated that 378 pubs would close in 2025 across England, Wales and Scotland, amounting to more than 5,600 direct job Tuesday, pub chain Brewdog was the latest to announce cuts, with 10 bars across the UK closing due to "rising costs, increased regulation, and economic pressures".Chancellor Rachel Reeves said "pubs and bars are at the heart of British life" as the government launched a consultation on the added: "For too long, they've been stifled by clunky, outdated rules. We're binning them, to protect pavement pints, al fresco dining and street parties - not just for the summer, but all year round."Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, said: "Though any cutting of red tape for hospitality businesses is welcome, this is pure hypocrisy and inconsistency from Labour."He accused Labour of "crippling the hospitality industry by doubling business rates, imposing a Jobs Tax and a full-on strangulation of employment red tape".
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Music venues subject to noise complaints to get ‘greater protection'
Music venues that are subject to noise complaints by nearby residential developments will be offered 'greater protection' under new government plans. The measures, which are set to be introduced under the national licensing policy framework, would mean developers taking responsibility for soundproofing flats and apartments near existing pubs or music venues. The changes are designed to stop the kinds of rows that have seen pubs and gig venues dogged by complaints from people who live in homes built within earshot. Night & Day cafe in Manchester was issued a noise abatement notice by Manchester city council in November 2021 due to complaints from neighbours about loud music at night. The nearly three-year-long row concluded with the venue being told to impose restrictions that limited noise late at night to a reasonable level. The case has led to a growing concern among venues on new developments being built locally, opening up the opportunity for noise complaints from future tenants. The Music Venue Trust said earlier this year that one grassroots music venue closed every two weeks in 2024. Plans for a new office block next to the Prince Albert pub in Brighton were approved on appeal in January, after being refused in November 2023. A petition against the scheme garnered more than 22,000 signatures, claiming the pub was at threat of permanent closure, with DJ Fatboy Slim performing at the venue in 2023 to highlight its cultural importance. George Taylor, a co-landlord of the Prince Albert, said that he saw restrictions imposed on the new offices as a 'win', including a requirement for them to close at 8pm when music typically starts at the venue next door. He said he wanted to see more independent monitors in place to support venues in the UK, including within the new soundproofing measures being introduced. Taylor said: 'With the soundproofing, in theory it sounds great but to manage and look after it, it's supposed to be an independent person. If it's the company that built the building that hires the person to do it, they could be biased as they are on their payroll.' He added: 'Our point is that once the building goes up and if they haven't done the soundproofing, the council won't make them rip the walls down and put it in.' London-based gig venue Moth Club has also seen support from a 20,000-strong petition against two separate planning applications for new blocks of flats beside it. The venue said the blocks, which are due to be considered by Hackney council in the coming months, would have 'devastating consequences' for the future of the club. The new protection will be ushered in under the 'agent of change principle', with the Department for Business and Trade saying it will consider further options to support established venues under the new framework. Other measures in the overhaul include simplifying the process of opening and operating hospitality venues, scrapping local rules that delay small businesses from opening. The business and trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, said: 'Red tape has stood in the way of people's business ideas for too long. Today we're slashing those barriers to giving small business owners the freedom to flourish.' New 'hospitality zones' are also envisioned, with more leniency on permissions for street parties and extended opening hours to usher people back on to high streets. Speaking on the new changes, the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said pubs and bars were 'at the heart of British life'. Reeves said: 'For too long, they've been stifled by clunky, outdated rules. We're binning them – to protect pavement pints, alfresco dining and street parties – not just for the summer, but all year round.'
Irish Times
16-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Wetherspoons wins permission for Dublin sound barrier
An Coimisiún Pleanála has granted planning permission to UK pub giant JD Wetherspoon for a 13 ft high acoustic glass screen that now allows it to reopen a court-yard at its Keaven's Port hotel on Dublin's Camden Street but had stirred local opposition. The planning green light overturns a decision by Dublin City Council earlier this year to refuse permission after local residents objected, claiming that the application would turn a 'super-pub' into a 'mega-pub' by reopening the courtyard. JD Wetherspoon closed its beer garden at the venue in April 2022 in response to locals' noise complaints. In response to the JD Wetherspoon planning appeal, the planning commission has granted permission after concluding that the works are 'modest in scale and due to the sensitive design, do not detract from the setting of the protected structures'. READ MORE [ Council refuses permission for Wetherspoon 'noise wall' Opens in new window ] The order stated that the commission was satisfied that the proposed works in combination with mitigation measures, would address the issue of noise and its impact on the amenity of the adjoining property. In conditions attached to the permission, the planning commission states that the capacity of the courtyard will be limited to 135 persons and it will operate from 10am to 11pm 'to protect residential amenity'. The planning commission has also ordered that there will be no outbreak of amplified music from any activities at nearby noise sensitive locations. JD Wetherspoon will also be required to carry out further acoustic monitoring post commencement of the use of the beer garden to ensure that the patron noise levels projected within the acoustic report are being compiled with. The 13 ft high acoustic glass screen is the firm's second bid to address the noise complaints - in 2023, Wetherspoons abandoned plans to erect a 43 ft high sound barrier, dubbed 'taller than the Berlin Wall' by one objector, after strong local opposition. JD Wetherspoon spokesman, Eddie Gershon said on Wednesday: 'As you would expect, we are very pleased that An Bord Pleanala has granted the appeal. He said: 'We do not yet have a date for the works to the garden to commence, but we hope to get started as soon as possible. Mr Gershon said: 'We will endeavour to keep our neighbours and the relevant authorities fully briefed when we have more information'.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Reepham school told to limit use of 'noisy' heat pump
A school that installed an air source heat pump without planning permission has been told by the Planning Inspectorate that it cannot run it continuously - because of the noise. Reepham High School in Norfolk put up the pump in 2022 to heat its English and Science people living near the school complained that the noise was disturbing their sleep - and Broadland District Council (BDC) said it would take enforcement action if the pumps were used before 07:00 or after 17: school said it was "considering all options to resolve the matter". After complaints about the pump, BDC gave the school retrospective planning permission to use it, provided they did not run the pump outside school hours and disturb the neighbours. Heat pumps work by extracting heat from the outside air and transferring it to a building's heating and hot water system, like a reverse are designed to operate 24 hours a day, with a frost setting kicking in during low temperatures to maintain heat levels and stop the equipment Quinn has grown out a hedge in his front garden to screen off the heat pump noise."It's louder than a dishwasher and perhaps quieter that an extractor fan so you are conscious of it," he said. "I've grown my hedge longer, higher and wider so it does mitigate the noise to a degree but it does affect us early in the morning."At five o'clock we can hear it kick in on the frost cycle." 'Heart of the town' Reepham High School appealed against the restrictions put on them by the council. But the Inspectorate turned down the appeal, stating it was "both necessary and reasonable to impose a restriction preventing the operation of the de-frost cycle to protect the living conditions of neighbouring residents". The council said it would take enforcement action against the school if and when the heat pumps were used again, but would not act on previous breaches this school told the BBC that alternative heating was being used instead of the heat pump. "Reepham High School and Sixth Form is at the heart of the town and a valued part of the community," a spokesperson said."As with any construction project at the school, it was never our intention to upset or inconvenience residents." Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
CTV News
08-07-2025
- CTV News
Cowboys and Badlands Music festival breached sound levels Monday: City of Calgary
The Cowboys Music Festival continues to be a popular destination for Calgary Stampede revelers while also irritating some of those who live in the area. The City of Calgary says 23 noise complaints were filed about the tent on Monday night and into Tuesday morning. In comparison, just seven noise complaints were filed about the Badlands Music Festival tent, located in the 700 block of Ninth Avenue S.W., during that same time. In years past, the Cowboys Music Festival was located near the Cowboys Casino on 12th Avenue S.E., but this year the tent moved to the newly renamed Cowboys Park, formerly Shaw Millennium Park, at 1220 Ninth Ave. S.W. The festival's tent has been granted a noise exemption, allowing it to play music at 85 decibels until 1:30 a.m., which is about as loud as a lawn mower. After that, it must be reduced to 60 decibels, equivalent to what you would experience in an office or restaurant. The music needs to be completely over or off by 2 a.m. The decibel reading takes place from the point of reception—or where the complaint is being made—or as near as possible. Measurements are monitored from all around the location during the evening. In a statement, the city said between midnight and 1 a.m. on Tuesday, officers found both Cowboys and Badlands were 'in breach' of the sound levels. 'Both sites were educated, and the sound was adjusted to comply,' said the statement. Some nearby residents have been frustrated by the noise from the music festival. The total of noise complaints filed about the Cowboys tent is now 39. On Monday, Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong apologized for any disturbance the festival has caused, saying he was committed to addressing concerns with residents.
