Bridgnorth venue at centre of 'excessive noise' row to learn outcome of licence review

Bosses of a Bridgnorth cocktail bar and restaurant are willing to reduce the number of events it hosts following claims they "inflict misery" on nearby residents.

The Greenhouse in High Street is currently the subject of a licence review following reports of excessive noise.

One neighbour is so worried about the perilous state of his Grade II listed home due to bass frequencies that he fears it could eventually collapse.

Rob Bowland, an environment protection officer at Shropshire Council, applied for the premises' licence to be reviewed following several complaints.

There have been various tribute acts at the venue, including to Oasis, Queen, George Ezra, Robbie Williams and UB40, as well as DJ-led 'El Caso' events.

The council's licensing act sub-committee listened to representation from all parties on Tuesday (October 20) and will submit its decision in writing within five working days.

Various powers are available, including suspending or revoking the licence, removing the designated premises supervisor, or modifying the conditions.

Mr Bowland said the noise emanating from The Greenhouse is one of the worst cases he has encountered in nearly 30 years.

"They've had more events this year and continue to inflict misery on their neighbours," said Mr Bowland.

"In the same week they were served with a noise abatement notice, they applied for a TEN [temporary event notice] for another DJ outside which, in my view, shows contempt of the council and the whole licensing process.

"The El Caso and tub thumping events should be indoors, and the tribute acts are more akin to a festival.”

Last month the sub-committee issued a counter notice to prevent The Greenhouse holding a DJ-led event in its garden on September 5.

Public protection officer Ross O'Neil said the event still went ahead despite the TEN refusal.

"Because the premises is licensed, the building doesn't need the licence of recorded music, hence why the premises went ahead and had the activity," said Mr O'Neil.

"I wasn't there so don't know what type of music was played, whether it was live or recorded. If it was live and the audience was outside, that's permitted.

"If it was recorded and the audience was outside and it wasn't incidental background [music], then it could be alleged there was a breach."

The licence holder, Andrew Rhodes, said the event was indoors.

"We do have a beer garden and people can go there and smoke, talk, and socialise," said Mr Rhodes.

"I'm a little bit confused how we could be in breach of that when the music was indoors, the majority of the crowd was indoors, all the entertainment was indoors."

Mr O'Neill replied: "If you're playing recorded music, the garden is not licensed.

"If your audience is outside and there's allegation that you've got speakers outside, that could potentially be a breach.

"If you're saying they were outside consuming alcohol and smoking, and it was background and incidental, then it wouldn't be. If you're purposely having recorded music with opened windows and doors and letting the audience go outside, that is different than letting people go outside to drink and smoke."

The committee heard from Martin Donnelly and Joanne Jordan, who live in nearby Tudor Court.

Mr Donnelly said his house has already been shored up "on The Greenhouse side" because it is at risk of collapse.

"Listed buildings with weak walls are affected by low frequency bass, and there is legislation to control that," he said.

"I am really afraid that our house is being damaged. So it's not just about the volume, it's about the type of frequency."

Mr Donnelly added that he noticed "some shifting" shortly after an event held at The Greenhouse on August 29, and it is being investigated by experts.

"The house is creaking and rattling - we have to close windows, then it gets hot.

“El Caso is constant from 2pm to 8pm. It drives you down. You dread the weekends coming up because you know what's coming.

"There was nothing wrong when we bought it. Our house is connected to all the other properties in Tudor Court - there's no gaps.

"If our wall cracks, it could crack all the properties. It is over 340 years old, but the bricks are the poorest.

"We noticed cracks around the windows and the beams. Low frequency bass can travel 75 metres. We're right next to it [The Greenhouse].

“We don't want The Greenhouse to close down.

"I don't think you need to have loud music to survive. We need to find a middle ground. There should be a total of six events a year which includes live bands."

Mrs Jordan said: "It's become a bit of a nightmare and is making my health worse. When the bass gets going, it's the vibration.

"We've had comments from people at The Grove saying they can hear it.

"This summer was so hot, we couldn't open the windows. It was unbearable.

"It's just the level of the volume. I get you have to make money and I like music.

"I moved there before it was a pub, like Martin. It's not the right place for what they are trying to do there."

Mr Rhodes said the premises has a long history of being a music venue that brings in tourism and boosts the local economy.

"We take residents' concerns seriously and recognise their right to enjoy their homes without unreasonable disturbance," said Mr Rhodes.

"However, we ask that The Greenhouse is judged fairly on the evidence and the way the business actually operates. We hold fewer than 10 outdoor events throughout the summer, some finish as early as 8.30pm and not a single event beyond 10.30pm.

"We believe this is an important distinction when considering the nature and frequency of our outdoor entertainment. We are a hospitality business making occasional use of our garden for seasonal events and are not a nightclub operating late at night."

Mr Rhodes added that he was happy to reduce the number of TENs to eight per year, which he said is a meaningful compromise and shows the directors have listened.

"The venue is massive and very expensive to run," said Mr Rhodes.

"Bridgnorth is a seasonal town. From September to November, our turnover drops off a cliff. January to April is super tough.

"Heating bills alone can be £10,000 a month. To make the business viable and last through winter, we need to make as much money as we can through the summer, and that's why we need to do these events outside."

However, Mr Bowland argued that the maximum number of TENs should ideally be six a year.

"It's about striking the fair balance," he said, adding there should be at least a 20-day gap between events, which would allow for some to be held on the two bank holidays in May.

Residents should be informed about the events in writing 14 days beforehand, said Mr Bowland.