The Marylebone Association welcomes the review of the current premises licence held by The Royal Parks Agency. A number of residents in Marylebone have suffered from disturbance caused by the amplified music and associated noise from events in the Park in 2011 and in previous years. The performance of live music, music making and dance needed urgently to be brought into better balance with the need of people living locally. In addition some thought needed to be given to a limit on the volume of the noise being caused and the number of events permitted under the current licence. The number and particular types of events in the Park has a serious and extended impact on the residents of Marylebone throughout the summer months. The Review proposed tightening of conditions on noise especially limits on maximum volume and lower frequency sound. New limits were proposed for the number of events and further limits on the numbers of persons attending each event. The Review will be held later in February
The impact of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 is becoming clearer. This is legislation intended to 'rebalance' the licensing arrangements established by the Licensing Act 2003. Key points include: many more people will be able to object to the granting of a licence; there will be greater flexibility for licensing authorities to apply appropriate conditions and restrictions on a licence; Environmental Health Officers will now be able to object against the granting of Temporary Events Notices (TENs) whereas previously this power was reserved to the police. The potential is there for larger number of TENs to be declined on grounds of noise and nuisance. Also, licensing authorities will be able to claw back some of the costs associated with managing licensing arrangements through the introduction of late night levy. We'll have to see what happens in practice. The Local Government Association has an overview of the details of the Act with regard to licensing: Click Here For Details
Finally, it would be interesting to know how many people in Marylebone are bothered by what I would call 'ancillary noise'. With any licensed premises there will inevitably be noise connected with the everyday operation of the pub, bar or restaurant. That's understandable and usually manageable. However, a number of things can add up in such a way as to have a real cumulative impact on the quality of life of residents near licensed premises. For example, frequent noisy deliveries at all times of the day (or night); bottle and refuse disposal and collection; and kitchen and waiting staff who clearly don't understand that they need to keep down the noise when they're outside the premises. The impact of some of these anti-social activities can be dealt with in licensing conditions but often they can be overlooked. Any evidence of the extent of this problem would be appreciated. Please use the comments facility below
William Blacklock.
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