keepitlampy Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 does anyone have any advice re: music venue does its thing for long time person moves in next door complains about noise levels everynight venue technical manager on verge of nervouse breakdown due to 102dba limit and general manager thinking the best way to address the issue is to bother foh engineers instructing them to turn down certain frequencys (witch incidently a touring engineers nearly gave him a shoeing for!) is it me or is the law balanced towards the one neighbour instead of the thousands of customers? kind words of encouragement greatly appreciated Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 The problem is the limit, isn't it. Trying to keep within it is difficult, and most solutions unacceptable to shows you have on. Much depends on the local authority. One complaint seems unlikely to result in a quick limit being applied. Usually there are weeks/months of testing and measuring, then the appeal that you put it, and then the other legal remedies on restriction of trade, bla bla. Alton Towers had a really well aired problem like this, and it went on for years. The first thing you need to do is the legal thing - getting them involved. Maybe you could carry out acoustic work to reduce spill outside? The law is not really in favour of anything. Your neighbours may well just have made more fuss in the right way than your venue did in reply. The Alton Towers story was quite weird - even fireworks being objected to, and if the reports were accurate in the newspapers, the complaining couple even had the offer of a free holiday when the event was on so they wouldn't be disturbed, and turned that down. At this stage - if the legal remedies have been played out, then you have to comply, or close - you did the legal stuff presumably. Personally, I'd get legal advice before asking for it publicly here - your neighbours may well read it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 ...is the law balanced towards the one neighbour instead of the thousands of customers?Generally speaking: Yes. kind words of encouragement greatly appreciatedSorry :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingwalker Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Surely the neighbour must have known they were moving in next door to an entertainment venue? Is it fairly obvious to everyone outside such as name on the door, posters etc? How long had they been in before the first complaint, I.e was it pretty much straight away or a few months down the line? Makes me wonder if the property was going for a song (pardon the pun) and he just snapped up what he thought may have been a bargain. Buy in haste, repent at leisure. I for one would be on your side as I tend to use my brain when doing things, a quick and simple question at the time of him looking round the property to the agent such as can you hear any noise from next door could have saved everyone a whole lot of hassle. After saying that, maybe he did ask the agent who could have possibly said no...in which case you could be looking at things from an entirely different perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Adam Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 This will depend on a few things. Is it a commercial business thats moved in next door? If so, what's their opening hours? Is it residents? If it's a business, you could be forced to do the same as us - a noise curfew. We (the Glasgow QMU) can't make noise before 5pm at night due to businesses around us. At king tuts, down the road, they have a 6pm curfew. It's a bit of a pain, but we make it work. On the other end, we can't have live music acts on after 1am. I'd be tempted to contact your licence officials to see what their take on it is. Although I'd agree that one complaint isn't usually enough to cause real issues - depending on who that person is. Good luck!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lightnix Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Surely the neighbour must have known they were moving in next door to an entertainment venue?Conversely: Surely the club must have known it was opening up in a residential area. Or maybe they didn't care... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Where I live, there is locally a scrap of land in the triangle formed where the Lowestoft to Norwich and Lowestoft to Ipswich railway lines diverge. They managed to squeeze in a few houses. Guess what, a resident complained about the noise from the trains! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the kid Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 If it is the venue I beleive it is a long running establishment formerly owned by Carling and now o2. If it is the other venue on the same road, I am not totaly sure. However the road has always knowen a "livley" atmosphere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musht Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Its not uncommon, House Hotel up here, operating for years as wedding venue, sells off ground to housing developers, new residents then compalin about noise from wedding receptions and has the late licence pulled, house now converted to flats... Or at other place worked, complaining neighbour unable to attend council meeting due to being detained at Her Majestys Pleasure for entertaining young boys at his property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starstruck Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I can sympathize fully ! I owned a night club with no problems until someone moved into a flat next door and started complaining about the noise. I offered to pay for double glazing but they wanted to sleep with the windows open ! Despite the fact its damn cold during the winter up here! I sent months trying everything I could , and had meetings with environmental health several times a week , I ended up installing a limiter which wasn't set at a pre defined limit ! I had one environmental health officer in the club and another in the guys flat , we turned up the voltage and as soon as they said it was too loud that’s what the limiter got set too . I could have farted louder ! In the end despite spending a fortune I ended up closing the club ! I was told that several months after the club was closed the guy sold the flat for a huge profit intentionally . He had bought the flat cheap because it was next to a club , shut us down and then sold up for a profit . Good luck Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StevieR Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 I've seen this before at a local venue. The problem is that it is a local council licensing issue and they make up their own rules. The standard laws often don't apply here. Fighting any decision not in your favour will no doubt require the services of a lawyer and possibly court intervention. Obviously a costly step. Councils always seem to take the side of a home resident at the cost of putting an established business on the line. I think in your circumstances you need to seek legal advice before making any decisions. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve h Posted October 15, 2009 Share Posted October 15, 2009 Presuming it is the venue mentioned in your profile I would turn around and ask them why the heck they moved in next to the cowley road if they wanted piece and quiet. Its not as if the (presumed) venue in question is a small hidden away type affair or that there are not similar, but smaller, venues in the area! Im sure the drunken louts in the area will also be causing them disturbance but unfortunately they don't have a large well known name on them! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kerry davies Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 At present it very much depends on the attitude and approach of the Local Authority. The OP does not say how the LA is responding to the complaints. If they treat the complaints as "frivolous and/or vexatious" they could even take sanctions against the complainant. I used to do gigs in a venue which resulted in repeated complaints from an individual who was visited by the EHO with no action being taken against the venue. The normal response from LA's to entertainment noise, however is that of causing the venue grief. The EU has a system under planning laws that gives rights to existing premises which does not apply in the UK so that someone moving in near to existing business has no right to complain like this. The UK was looking into this problem some years ago though I can't find anything on the web about it. If the venue is breaking existing agreements on noise levels they haven't got a leg to stand on but what would happen if someone bought a house opposite a steelworks then complained of noise pollution? This is just another example of how common sense is really uncommon in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 I know of a planning application that received a complaint before the application was actually submitted. A nearby scrap yard put in a complaint before the land had even been purchased, once it read of the idea in the local newspaper - and saw the 'artists impression' of the development. An arts centres, including theatre space and recording studios. The scrap yard made it plain that they create a lot of noise when unloading/loading scrap steel when ships dock a the quay. Their point was that at some point, a complaint could be made by the new venue of loud noise interrupting performances - so they were registering the problem in advance and indicated there was no way this long standing activity could be made quieter. I've never heard of this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris4monitors Posted October 16, 2009 Share Posted October 16, 2009 Sorry to go off post but :The people who live next to me recently complained because I put up a new TV ariel on the chimney of my house. Apparently it was in their line of sight from their patio.Sadly some people are never happy unless their is something to complain about. When I talked to the local council about it they fell about laughing, lets face it more or less every house in the world has got an ariel.Incidently the neighbour in question has a lot of noisy barbeques in the summer which until this incident we had put up with but they didnt like being told about it when they complained about my ariel.Sorry to be so off post but it does show some peoples attitudes.If they didnt know about your venue they must have been blindfold when they looked at the house or else they are trying to do what starstuck says happened at his venue.Good luck and get a good solicitor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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