Pubs and venues to be protected from noise complaints

[BigRedX]

Do your due diligence when selecting somewhere to live. 

 

When I was looking to buy my first house in the early 90s, I had found somewhere suitably interesting and convenient for work and the city centre. However it was only a couple of doors down from a pub. So before making a decision on whether to put in an offer I spent a Saturday evening in the pub to see what it would be like. Based on my experience I decided that I would become very unhappy about the noise quite quickly and therefore decided to look elsewhere. IMO that was the sensible course of action.

 

It doesn't take much time and effort to do the research and anyone who doesn't only has themselves to blame. 

[Geek99]

Agree, I live next to a school and wouldn’t do it again

[KingBollock]

A friend of my wife’s owns the only pub in the village. She’s always been strict about closing at 11pm and is only open four days a week. She used to put on live music in a dedicated function room.

 

Then a couple moved in next door and started complaining…

 

So, no music anymore, live or otherwise. This isn’t good enough, though, oh no! They don’t want people talking while walking past their house at closing time. So she had to buy signs that tell people to be quiet when they leave.

 

She has decided to sell the pub, and those neighbours are part of the reason for it.

 

There used to be two pubs in the village but the other one got turned into a bistro/deli. Who knows what’ll happen to her pub once it’s sold?

[chris_b]

I dislike noise as much as the next guy, my neighbour is a particular nuisance when he starts drilling into  the party wall at 7.30 in the morning, but you don't move next to the M1 and complain about the traffic noise. You don't move next to a pub and complain about drunks. . . . etc etc

[Lozz196]

A venue I`ve played a few times had a nearby building bought by people of a religious faith.

 

Who then complained about noise whilst they were praying, and wanted the venue closed down. 

 

The venue itself wasn`t/isn`t in a residential area, so noise levels hadn`t been affecting anyone until the purchase above.

 

As per a few other posts, do your research when buying, and don`t buy then expect an existing business to change/be closed down.

 

 

[knirirr]

16 hours ago, TimR said:

 

There are developers that do stupid things like build retirement flats next to music venues, that kind of thing should be thrown back to the developers to fix. But we know developers vanish with regularity for a new company to spring up in their places.

 

 

Some developers near where I live have had a planning application to build houses accepted where the directly adjacent neighbour is the shooting club. Next to the chaps firing rifles (and not just .22) there are the Rugby and football clubs. I suspect there will be a few noise complaints once those houses are built. 

 

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

Do your due diligence when selecting somewhere to live. 

 

 

 

Before moving I took a few late walks through the area and asked locals; the conclusion was that it was a quiet area. What I didn't discover was the plans to build a hotel nearby, with my street being on the quickest route back for hotel guests who've been trying the local pubs. New windows have dealt with most of the nuisance from that.

[TimR]

1 hour ago, KingBollock said:

A friend of my wife’s owns the only pub in the village. She’s always been strict about closing at 11pm and is only open four days a week. She used to put on live music in a dedicated function room.

 

Then a couple moved in next door and started complaining…

 

So, no music anymore, live or otherwise. This isn’t good enough, though, oh no! They don’t want people talking while walking past their house at closing time. So she had to buy signs that tell people to be quiet when they leave.

 

She has decided to sell the pub, and those neighbours are part of the reason for it.

 

There used to be two pubs in the village but the other one got turned into a bistro/deli. Who knows what’ll happen to her pub once it’s sold?

 

That falls into unreasonable expectations in my book. 

 

I back onto a pub car-park. We get doors slammed, occasionally people fighting, lots of noise as people arrive and leave during the Sunday lunch rush, a bit of noise carry from the garden on the other side of the carpark. Most of it can be easily ignored.

 

One day some of the locals decided to move one of the benches down the carpark outside my fence (because it was jn the sun), started swearing and throwing cigarettes over the fence. 

That is not reasonable. That resulted in a robust face to face confrontation where I was told "You moved next to a pub, what do you expect?", and I told them (the above), explaining that I moved next to a pub carpark, not a pub, and that my small children were listening to the swearing, and having cigarettes thrown at them and their trampoline. 

 

Some red-faces, sweary people apologised and moved the bench back into the pub garden.

 

But some people are really over-sensitive and a precident has been set where pubs have been refused licences. Bad reporting in the press has resulted in people thinking they have the right to complain about reasonable noise. 

Edited 5 hours ago by TimR

[Lozz196]

Yep, I live next to a licensed establishment, a bit of (always good natured) noise at closing time, and a bit of difficulty parking between 7pm & 11pm, but nothing to really moan about, though I’m sure some would try very hard to.

[Count Bassy]

4 hours ago, Hellzero said:

The funny thing is that those preaching for noise tolerance would refuse to live in such a neighbourhood all year long, it's exactly the same as those complaining about people driving too fast in their street and doing it themselves everywhere else.

 

What ? All of them?   It doesn't help your arguement if you just make stuff up and then claim it as a fact.  Next thing you'll be saying that everyone eats their neighbour's pets.

 

[BassAdder60]

I think if we listened to all the complaints and moans from disgruntled folk and acted on them we would live in a very boring sterile non human kind of existence! 
 

The fact is so many things happen now in society that are far more horrific and offensive compared to occasional noise issues 

Some folk have forgotten what it’s like to have fun !! 

Edited 4 hours ago by BassAdder60

[fretmeister]

15 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Of course you have the right to complain, noise above a certain dB level is a nuisance and is simply not allowed.

 

And noise is a health problem as it can lead to serious health issues, stress being the first, leading itself to cardiac problems and neurological disorders.

 

If you like noise, go and start living in a factory with 24/24 7/7 permanent noise, you'll certainly appreciate being in such an environment.

 

Stop thinking you can make as much noise as you want without caring for the neighbours, it's so selfish.

 

 

I'm wondering how many more strawmen / whataboutery / false equivalence comments that could be made.

 

The proposed law is nothing to do with any of your post.

 

It is to stop people moving / building / developing within earshot of a venue knowing or should have known that it is a noisy venue and then being able to complain and have it shut down.

 

That's it. Nothing else.

 

Land within ear shot of noisy venues often gets bought by developers very cheaply. They then build homes on the land and don't mention the venue nearby. The buyer of the new home doesn't do adequate searches about the location when they should have done as part of a survey, or does them and decides to buy the home in the anticipation of complaining enough to shut the venue. The developers know this will happen - in fact they are probably banking on it and it will likely make the venue fail and be up for sale too.

 

Venues are often on the brink financially so they don't have the ability of say, an airport, to tell the new resident to sod off. And generally nobody can claim they didn't know an airport was there.

 

All this law will do will make developers tell the truth about the properties they are selling, and it will stop new residents moving into a noisy area and then complaining about the noise they were already aware of. It will stop new residents lying that they didn't know about the venue / noise / etc.

 

That's it.

 

Nothing like any of your post at all - all of which can be avoided by not buying a home in earshot: "Your neighbours" made their own decision to move next to a live music venue. That is their choice and for them to move there, and for them to then try to change the behaviour of the people who were there first is the selfish act.

[mcnach]

3 hours ago, KingBollock said:

A friend of my wife’s owns the only pub in the village. She’s always been strict about closing at 11pm and is only open four days a week. She used to put on live music in a dedicated function room.

 

Then a couple moved in next door and started complaining…

 

So, no music anymore, live or otherwise. This isn’t good enough, though, oh no! They don’t want people talking while walking past their house at closing time. So she had to buy signs that tell people to be quiet when they leave.

 

She has decided to sell the pub, and those neighbours are part of the reason for it.

 

There used to be two pubs in the village but the other one got turned into a bistro/deli. Who knows what’ll happen to her pub once it’s sold?

 

It might become a small factory making drums, trumpets and sirens.

 

[mcnach]

I think it's time there are regulations for the builders to include some reasonable (there's that word again) sound insulation, in general. A friend of mine lives in a flat and you can hear the neighbour when he opens a can in his living room. That's just silly.

[fretmeister]

5 minutes ago, mcnach said:

I think it's time there are regulations for the builders to include some reasonable (there's that word again) sound insulation, in general. A friend of mine lives in a flat and you can hear the neighbour when he opens a can in his living room. That's just silly.

 

That sounds like builders going cheap on the build.

[BassAdder60]

I live in a road where you can hear the trains ( I chose to move here and never once considered complaining about the noise ) 

The trains were here first and the development built later 

Thankfully good insulation and windows and noise isn’t too bad and you get use to the background noise 

I’m sure someone has complained as is always the case ! 
Our local pub no longer has bands only duos etc based on one complaint from a new arrival who didn’t like noise at 10:30pm or earlier !

Pub trade fell off and I’m sure it will close thanks to one person whereas hundreds will miss out on yet another facility! 

[Greg Edwards69]

Reading the article, it appears that it is aimed at new builds and new business only. I can't see mention of existing pubs and venues.

[mcnach]

35 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

 

That sounds like builders going cheap on the build.

 

Exactly, and unless tehre are regulations to establish a (dare I say it?) reasonable level of insulation, they'll continue doing so.

[ian61]

A breach of the peace is just that and it doesn't take into account who had first dibbs so to speak, which is galling when a venue has been in place for years and then the new build next door has the power to shut it down....AFAIC the law needs changing.

[ghostwheel]

15 hours ago, Hellzero said:

You know Angles and Saxons were Germanic tribes: Does this make U.K. a German property?

Well, at least, not Danish. It’s a kind of relief. 

[Beer of the Bass]

21 hours ago, TimR said:

 

Bands are getting louder and venues are staying open later.

 

 

 

Are bands getting louder? I'm not sure that assertion is supported by real world experiences. More and more bands and musicians are going for quiet stages, modelling rigs or smaller amps, electronic drums etc. Big gear that used to be a gigging staple like 8x10" or 2x15" bass cabs and guitar 4x12"s go for pocket money prices because very few still have a use for them, and there's a whole market for gear that imitates the cranked amps that used to be normal. 

[TimR]

49 minutes ago, ian61 said:

A breach of the peace is just that and it doesn't take into account who had first dibbs so to speak, which is galling when a venue has been in place for years and then the new build next door has the power to shut it down....AFAIC the law needs changing.

 

A breach of the peace is something else. 

[peteb]

9 minutes ago, Beer of the Bass said:

 

Are bands getting louder? I'm not sure that assertion is supported by real world experiences. More and more bands and musicians are going for quiet stages, modelling rigs or smaller amps, electronic drums etc. Big gear that used to be a gigging staple like 8x10" or 2x15" bass cabs and guitar 4x12"s go for pocket money prices because very few still have a use for them, and there's a whole market for gear that imitates the cranked amps that used to be normal. 

 

You are quite right. 

 

I can tell you from experience that stage / out-front volumes are nowhere near as loud as they were in the seventies, eighties and (to a slightly lesser extent) nineties. 

 

Edited 1 hour ago by peteb

[ian61]

22 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

A breach of the peace is something else. 

ISTBC.  Yes its actually 'Disturbing the Peace'... but I think you knew what I meant.

[BigRedX]

I don't know if bands are getting quieter. The quality of live sound is vastly improved from the 70s and 80s, but clearer does not necessarily mean quieter.

[fretmeister]

39 minutes ago, peteb said:

 

You are quite right. 

 

I can tell you from experience that stage / out-front volumes are nowhere near as loud as they were in the seventies, eighties and (to a slightly lesser extent) nineties. 

 

 

This.

 

There's such a big move to modellers / IEMs even for small pub bands. I haven't seen a raging JCM800 for a good decade.