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Businesses close their doors
Wednesday 7th January 2009, 3:00PM GMT.
A Shropshire pub has closed its doors after bosses were forced to ditch their plans for a live music venue after being told by council officials to turn down the volume.
And a teenage shopkeeper is preparing to shut up shop in the county after being bitten by the credit crunch.
The B-side at The Albert in Shrewsbury was revamped last year with a dedicated upstairs room for bands – but now environmental health bosses have slapped the venue with a noise abatement notice.
It means the Smithfield Road pub cannot play music which causes a nuisance to nearby neighbours. Pub manager Chris Allen said the ruling made it very difficult to hold live music nights and he took a decision on New Year’s Day to close the pub down.
He said: “The notice was valid from the moment it was issued.
“I think they had some complaints. We had the right to appeal against it but the abatement order would still be in place while we appealed. It was our whole business plan.
“Unfortunately, we have had to take the decision to pull the plug. New Year’s Eve was our last night.”
And Purple Rain, in Ellesmere, will shut its doors on Friday for the last time.
Bethan Clutton, 19, owner, said her store, which sells ladies’ fashion accessories, jewellery and handbags, was no longer making enough profit to remain open.
“We were doing really well at the beginning and then this credit crunch came and I’ve been sitting here for £10 or £20 per day,” she said.
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A real kick in the teeth to Chris who I know has been working very hard in trying to promote music and boost the entertainment value that Shrewsbury can offer.
How can this town even attempt to become a tourist attraction, a musical centre etc when things like this happen? It simply shows that this ‘county’ town is simply nothing more than a sleepy backwater.
I wonder what the council would do with nearby neighbours complain about the nuisance and noise values of the new theatre?
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Real shame that a small independant venture has to close like this.
I wonder if all the noise and pollution caused by the constant traffic will be ‘abated’ for the few residents that live across the road.
As for the theatre, you can not criticize the jewel in the crown of Shrewsbury Townfan.
I don’t think I’ve ever come across a such a small narrow minded town in all my travels.
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I wonder why people can’t enjoy themselves nowadays without industrial sized amplifiers?
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I personally know everyone involved in setting up, running and promoting the B-Side Venue and I was shocked and saddened by this news.
SABC are constantly boasting about Shrewsbury’s diverse mix of music and theatrical events, but where are residents and tourists supposed to go?
The Theatre Severn may be a wonderful extension to the facilities available in Shrewsbury, but that’s all we have and we need more variety than middle of the road songwriters and panto to whet our appetite.
The B-Side not only welcomed established music acts, but encouraged the Shrewsbury band scene, giving young people a platform to perform and share their talents. Losing another venue will have a knock on effect for these people and once again mean Shrewsbury will begin to disappear into the backwaters rather than strive to make a cultural difference.
And one note for the complaints issued….did these people not realise they were in close proximity to a pub when they decided to move there?
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I’ve been going to gigs in Shrewsbury for 40 years and got some great rock memories. ‘Yes’ for example at the Music Hall amongst them. But in all my time I’ve never seen Shrewsbury so bereft of good live music. Don’t mention the new theatre please as I see pensioner rock is more than well catered for. The Buttermarket? forget it its just wall to wall dance music for and by people whose only talent is ‘borrowing’ other peoples ideas. We need a dedicated live music venue pretty damn soon.
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Nice to see people speaking up for this pub venture, I do hope they aren’t NIMBY’s !!!
What a shame the pub did not consider the possible nuisance that would be caused to others before going ahead with their ‘business plan’, but then that seems to be the norm these days – push ahead regardless of the nuisance caused to others, then blame them when it all comes crashing down.
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Real shame that an honest attempt to create a music venue in the town is ruined by a few nimby’s living locally. It’s stuff like this that makes me embarresed to live in Shrewsbury.
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Yep, a strange one for Chris as I wouldn’t have thought there was that much in the way of ‘noise pollution’ amongst all the other chaos in that area on your average friday/saturday night. I suspect a hidden agenda here based on one or two accusations rather than actual fact. Still, as the likes of Judith Williams sit on their comfy paid-for seats in the new theatre (watching anything other than popular music), I’m sure they won’t give a damn about any of the other businesses in town trying to survive by keeping music live. Sad really but yep, a small narrow-minded town council I’ve had the dis-pleasure of living under for the last 40 years.
There again, you could always come down to Belle Vue already the acknowledged ‘artists quarter’ of Shrewsbury. Apart from the Arts Festival, live music is flourishing here – just don’t tell the fun police!!
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The similarities between ‘Shropshire’ and ‘inertia’ are (sadly) not limited to phonetics!
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council closes down competition to its new venue.
funny that.
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