Hamish Champ: Residents' rights and music pubs

A small news item in the daily free Metro newspaper caught my eye last week.

A pub in Stepney, east London, was in danger of losing its live music licence because, apparently, residents due to move into a block of new flats being built nearby would be disturbed by the noise.

I was tied up with judging for the Publican​ awards so I couldn't get to the bottom of the report, which may contain inaccuracies.

It didn't explain, for example, why it was thought that incoming residents would be able to get the live music removed. I will endeavour to check this out with the local council concerned.

But taking the piece at face value, I can't understand what the pub's prospective neighbours are thinking.

I could empathise with residents getting the hump if a new licensee arrived at the pub and began putting on noisy beat combos with their electric guitars and drums and t'ing.

But that's not what seems to be happening here. It is they who are planning to move near a pub that puts on live bands. Not the other way round.

Anyone choosing to live near a pub needs to be mindful of its existence and the sort of pub it is.

Again I stress, I'm not yet sure of all the facts of this case, but taking it as read I wonder what right these particular people think they have, pitching up and demanding that things change just because they've moved into the district.

There may be a lot more to this story than first appears. I'll let you know what I find out...