A new official e-petition has been launched in the UK to "Introduce mandatory noise complaint waivers for anyone who buys or rents a property within close distance of a music venue". At over 8,000 sign ups already, the suggestion seems popular and usually once past 10,000 signatures, the responsible department (here the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) would comment on the proposals which say "There are innumerate cases of people knowingly moving within close proximity of live music venues, only to try to have their licenses revoked or have them closed completely when they take exception to the noise." and "It is extremely detrimental to the UK's entertainment industry, particularly on a grassroots level, when all the music venues start disappearing. Music is a key British export and to endanger our strong national artist community is to endanger a key British industry" and concludes "As such, anyone who wishes to buy or rent a property within a determined distance of a music venue should have to read and sign legislature that waives their right to complain about the noise from the nearby venue. If they do not wish to be bothered by something that was a fixture of the community long before they arrived, they should not move there in the first place." if the petition gets at least 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in the House of Commons. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/70689.
The call for a review of noise abatement legislation here http://www.musiclawupdates.com/?p=5931
UPDATE - just one day after we posted this item, the campagn srarted to go viral - see the new image above that we grabbed from Facebook - and as of 26/11/14 at 11AM had 17,398 signatories
The London branch of the Pacha nightclub chain is to close in September, it has been announced. Opened in 2002, and named the capital's Best Dance Club at Bar Magazine's annual awards ceremony last year, the club will finally close its doors in September. A farewell party on 20 Sep will followed by one last hurrah, Kinky Malinki's sixteenth birthday party on 27 September.
And popular Manchester music venue Night & Day has been called to what the Manchester Evening News calls a "crunch licensing hearing" as it continues to tackle complaints from neighbours over noise levels. According to the MEN, the venue stands accused of repeatedly breaching a noise abatement notice issue by Manchester City Council. The venue said "The council have made an unprecedented move to review our licence before we have had the opportunity to appeal the Noise Abatement Notice in front of an independent judge in court". Recently, and after a spate of threatened closures including the Fleece in Bristol, and the Boileroom in Guildford , Mark Davyd, the founder of the Music Venue Trust, has warned of a 'tsunami' of noise abatement orders against venues and called for 'common sense' approach to resolve issues - often caused by new developments alongside pre-existing and often much loved music venues - wit Davyd adding 'if you hate music - why move next to a music venue?'. The MVT has called for the reform of existing legislation, which it says is unfair to music venues and is liaising with Save Live Music Australia which has fought a successful campaign against opportunistic developers down under.
And Preston's award winning 53 Degrees, operated by UClan Students Union with the support of the University of Central Lancashire, is to close as a 'high street' music venue at th end of 2014. The University will take over the building and use it for events and the academic programme, The future of Preston's 2000 capacity Guild Hall and 780 capacity Charter Theatre are also in doubt due to Council cost cutting.
The Boilerroom venue in Guildford is the latest live music venue facing the prospect of losing its licence because a newish neighbour - who chose to move into a property next to a performance space - has filed a complaint with the local council. Following on from complaints against Night & Day in Manchester and The Blind Tiger in Brighton - as well as the now seemingly solved threat to the Ministry Of Sound in London, the operators of The Boilerroom
'Guildford’s only alternative and independent live music venue' say "Our family run venue was opened in 2006, and is managed by a collective of people who believe the venue provides a much needed creative space for the local community; encouraging and supporting local bands and nurturing upcoming talent" adding "Our fairly new neighbours, who rent the house adjacent to the venue, have put in an application to review our license, with the direct intention and request that the council revoke our license with immediate effect. Their message is very clear: they want to shut us down. They believe we are in breach of our license conditions. We believe we manage the venue to a high standard with significant consideration for the local community". A petition has been launched to support the Bolilerroom here and you can also still sign the separate petition calling on Secretary Of State For The Environment Owen Paterson to "carry out an urgent review of noise abatement legislation" which is threatening grass roots venues who enjoy good relations with the vast majority of their neighbours" here.
The Music Venue Trust has launched a petition calling on the UK's Secretary Of State For The Environment Owen Paterson to "carry out an urgent review of noise abatement legislation", after concerns that long-standing gig venues could face closure because of a small number of noise complaints. The move comes as two venues, Night & Day in Manchester and The Blind Tiger in Brighton (right) have recently run into problems after their respective local councils received complaints from local residents about noise. In both cases it has been alleged that the complaints have come from people who have relatively recently moved into properties near the venues. And then complain.
