'Noisy' Putney Pub Has Licence Restricted

Idle Hour received flood of complaints from neighbours

The committee conducted a review of the licence held by the Idle Hour after a neighbour complained about excessive noise from the premises.

Other residents also then complained about noisy music, people talking loudly while standing outside smoking, the constant sound of tables and chairs being scraped along wooden floors and people sitting at tables and chairs outside the rear emergency exit doors and causing noise nuisance.

The committee was told that no planning permission was in place that would allow the management to put tables and chairs into this rear area. As a result the owner has been told that he must take a number of steps if he is to comply with his licence. He must now remove all the tables and chairs in the back garden and the emergency door must remain closed and used only for genuine emergencies.

From now on no customers will be allowed to bring their drinks outside and all internal tables and chairs must be adapted so that they cause less noise. In addition, the owner has been ordered to carry out a full independent acoustic survey of the bar and must implement any measures identified by that survey to reduce noise levels within a three month deadline if the bar is to continue trading.

And for the next three months, the bar will have to stop serving drinks at midnight each night and cease any music or other entertainment at 11pm. Under the previous licence, the bar was allowed to continue serving drinks until 2am at weekends.

Committee chairman Cllr Stewart Finn said: "We have imposed some quite tough conditions on this venue to ensure that they do not continue to cause noise problems to their neighbours. The most important element however is the condition relating to the acoustic survey. . Whatever requirements that study identifies to keep a lid on excessive noise levels, they will have to be implemented to the satisfaction of the council's head of environmental services within three months. If they are not implemented satisfactorily within the three month deadline, then the bar runs the risk of losing its late license and it could even end up being closed down."

The Idle Hour has 21 days to appeal the sub-committee's decision in the courts. If they do appeal, then the new conditions would not come into force until the appeals process had been completed.

December 21, 2007