Music venue must pull the plug on bands at 8pm in noise row
MUSIC venue owners have been told to stop live bands at 8pm after noise complaints.
One neighbour said the noise coming from The Scala in Merthyr Tydfil was so loud that their son could no longer stay in their property.
A review of the premises licence by the council’s licensing committee on April 11 also considered an impact statement from Clair Davies, manager at the Scala snooker hall above the venue, describing how the “very loud music and vibration is not acceptable as it is causing the balls to move on the table”.
She added: “The music venue is a fantastic idea and is great for the town, but the venue needs to be properly soundproofed to hold such events to avoid these disturbances to my business and neighbours.”
Noise monitoring done by the council’s environmental health department showed statutory noise nuisance was being caused.
Following an independent review undertaken by The Scala, the owner wrote to a council public health officer saying that despite their efforts it has become evident that no specific decibel level can fully address the noise impact on the flat due to significant structural vibrations.
The owner suggested that operating as a music venue under the current conditions is unsustainable and without substantial structural modifications the building does not serve its intended purpose as a music venue.
Committee members considered the steps put forward by the premises’ licence-holder to address noise nuisance and their long-term redevelopment plans.
The committee also noted that the premises had already taken the step of stopping live bands at 8pm, which was considered to be an appropriate noise reduction measure.
The committee concluded with conditions added to the licence which included stopping live music at 8pm, an independent noise impact assessment, and works to ensure the future acoustic integrity of the building.
The decision notice said that it was noted in evidence and submissions from the premises licence-holder that they conceded that there had been “noise issues” at the premises.
But the decision notice also mentioned that the premises licenceholder felt the council had been premature in bringing the review and had treated the premises unfairly when the efforts they had taken to control the noise were taken into account.
The premises licence-holder stated they had been proactive and had engaged fully with both public health and the resident when dealing with concerns and complaints that had arisen, and that a stepped approach had not been taken, especially as the review was issued after the receipt of a sound and noise report dated February 6, 2024.
A timeline showed that the premises was made aware of noise issues from as early as August 23, 2023 and that noise nuisance had continued until seven months later.
Reference was also made to an abatement notice served on November 17, 2023, and that despite some noise mitigation work having been undertaken at this time, the noise nuisance continued.
The committee took into account the representations from the premises licence-holder and from residents saying they’d never had issues with noise from the venue. The committee also noted the support for the premises from a sizeable proportion of the local community who support a venue of this type.
The committee decided that conditioning the premises licence was both a necessary and proportionate means of ensuring that the licensing principle of prevention of public nuisance was promoted.
The decision notice said that the conditions allowed the premises to continue to operate while at the same time ensuring immediate neighbours have peace to enjoy their properties.
It was noted by committee that as matters currently stand, with regard to the acoustic properties of the premises, the premises cannot carry out live music events in the manner in which it has in the past.
Another condition aims to ensure the future acoustic integrity of the building.
The committee was told that this would be done but because of the uncertainties for the business as a consequence of the review, it had yet to be undertaken.
The committee decided that six months would be sufficient time for the work to be completed and commented that it would be in the interests of everyone for this to be done immediately. The rest of the added conditions were conditions suggested by the premise licence-holder.
Responding to the decision, Lyn Williams, the owner and premises licence-holder, said: “We believe the decision reached by the committee at the licensing hearing was pragmatic, taking into account the concerns of complainants, and offers our business a viable opportunity to sustain operations and jobs.
“It also grants us the flexibility to implement necessary adjustments to our infrastructure or business model. Notably, many of the conditions imposed were already in practice and had been proactively suggested by our team.
“Prior to the authority’s attempt to revoke our license for live music, we had independently implemented mitigation actions. At the hearing we confidently demonstrated the seriousness with which we addressed complaints and the concrete steps we took toward improvements.
“We contend that the decision to review our licence was unwarranted, highlighting a lack of cooperative effort from the authority to resolve these issues collaboratively.
“We are encouraged by the tremendous support from the community and remain optimistic about moving forward in a progressive and positive manner.”