Westminster City Council criticised for street-noise sham

Westminster City Council has come under renewed fire over efforts to make licensees responsible for limiting noise from cars outside their premises.

Stuart Jordan, who runs the Escape Bar, told thePublican.com that he had received a letter telling him he is responsible for stopping car drivers from beeping their horns outside his premises. (See his original commenton thePublican.com).

He already displays signs asking customers to be considerate when leaving the bar, but says he can't be expected to do anything more.

The letter is the latest in a series of controversial moves by the council to clamp down on late-night noise and disturbance. Last month it faced a barrage of criticism from the trade when it asked licensees to stop playing music that might encourage people to dance.

Mr Jordan said the latest letter was the last straw. "You can't park on the street, so it's not even our customers and we already do our best to prevent disturbance to residents," he said.

But a spokesman for Westminster council said that it was simply trying to ensure that licensees did their best to limit noise for residents.

He said: "It is not meant to be a heavy-handed tactic, sometimes bars don't even know that they are the cause of noise disturbance. If we do get a complaint then we have to act upon it."

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