‘Extreme’ noise complaints

Birmingham councillors revoke licence over venue's ‘extreme’ noise

Alex Brock - Local Democracy Reporter | Wednesday 17th January 2024 2:46pm

Birmingham City Council has taken action against a ‘shisha lounge’ in a historic neighbourhood amid noise complaints – with one nearby resident calling the impact “indescribable”.

Councillors decided to revoke the premises licence held for Jewels Lounge after hearing that a number of locals living in the Jewellery Quarter took issue with loud music reportedly coming from the venue in Pitsford Street, close to Brookfields Cemetery.

Environmental services told a council licensing sub-committee on Monday, January 15, that multiple people from “three different locations” in the surrounding area had complained about the noise in previous months.

One resident, who moved into a nearby apartment block in September last year, described the toll the noise was having on his mental health and claimed the venue would play music on Sunday nights and not finish “earlier than midnight.”

“In terms of how this impacts us personally, it’s quite indescribable,” he told the committee. “The noise is extreme, you can’t escape it.

“We start our Monday morning fatigued and frustrated because we acquire about four/ five hours of sleep.

“It’s extremely irritating but I think what makes matters worse for ourselves is the hopelessness because there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

“It pushes you onto the brink of your mental well-being.”

In a statement, an environmental health officer added that the noise he heard inside a flat in nearby Hylton Street earlier in the year on April 23, shortly after 11pm, “did amount to a statutory nuisance”.

He continued: “For approximately 15 minutes during our visit to the complainant’s property, the level of noise inside the living in the bedroom emanating from Jewels Shisha Lounge was high enough for me to clearly hear bass beats, whether it was male or female vocalist and I was able to make an attempt at recognising the genre of music.

“The noise was almost continuous and at a constant level.”

He added it was inappropriate “given that it was played during unsociable hours.”

Licensing lawyer Duncan Craig, speaking on behalf of the venue, said one of the issues with his clients was “a lack of understanding on their part as to what the framework of the licence is.”

“I think the existence of the Live Music Act has perhaps muddied the waters for them,” he continued.

“I have spoken to them and explained what they can and cannot do,” he added. “Their instructions to me is that this is a restaurant and they’re seeking to operate it along those lines going forward.”

The venue’s designated premises supervisor (DPS) claimed that they turn the music down or off at midnight but this was not accepted by the sub-committee.

In a report, the sub-committee said that while the premises could have lawfully provided amplified music until 11pm by virtue of the Live Music Act exemption, it had no permission on its licence for regulated entertainment after 11pm.

It added that it was satisfied that regulated entertainment had been put on after 11pm until after midnight, causing public nuisance.

The venue has 21 days from notification of the decision to launch an appeal.

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