Make Some Noise: 'We cancelled an event but residents still complained'

08-Oct-2014 - Last updated on 21-Oct-2014 at 11:42 GMT

Related tags Cheshire

White Horse employee Steven Cooper: 'We were shocked that by informing the residents we were doing music we actually pushed them to complain'

An employee of a Cheshire pub has hit out at the local council tightening his licence conditions, after residents complained about noise from an event that never actually happened.

Steven Cooper, assistant manager of the White Horse in Nantwich, said Cheshire East Council altered the conditions on his licence regarding temporary event notices (TENs), meaning he now has to stop playing recorded music outside the venue at 12.30am, rather than 2am, when using a TEN.

He said the condition was changed following noise complaints about a couple of events in the pub’s garden — one of which was cancelled.

He said he had delivered letters to all local residents before the charity event asking them to visit the pub if they had any issues, but had not informed residents when it was subsequently cancelled as he thought they would be happy not hearing the bands.

'Shocked'

“We were wrong. The council rang us up on the Monday to recite to us the complaints we had about the live music, even though there wasn’t any. We were shocked that by informing the residents we were doing music we actually pushed them to complain,” he told the PMA.

“Someone from the council came round to monitor our level of music and said absolutely nothing was wrong. And yet we still have to turn music off earlier than we used to.”

He said he has soundproofed the venue, triple-glazed windows, installed new doors, moved speakers and stopped people using the rear outside area after 11.30pm in an effort to deal with complaints from locals, which have been coming in for the past two years.

“We’re concerned the council will add even tighter conditions,” he said.

“[An agent of change principle] sounds like something that should have happened a very long time ago. The pub is very old. If we didn’t put music on, we couldn’t afford to stay open.”

Cheshire East Council failed to provide a comment.

Join campaign to change the law

The Make Some Noise campaign aims to unite the industry to fight for a fair hearing for pubs in disputes over noise complaints.

We believe residents moving near a pub with a history of hosting live music should show due respect and ensure their home is soundproofed.

If you have a story to tell email ellie.bothwell@wrbm.com or call her on 01293 610305.

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