Pub to move smoking area after complaint

A LANDLORD has been ordered to move a smoking area following complaints from a neighbour.

Karl Chapman, of Navigation Yard, Chelmsford, brought a licence review of the Two Brewers, in Springfield Road, to Chelmsford Council’s licensing and regulatory committee.

The commercial pilot for an international airline, who has lived in his flat for three-and-a-half years, said loud music comes from parties in the pub’s function room, noise from customers using the smoking area under his bedroom window prevents him from sleeping before midnight on Friday and Saturday evenings and loud and foul language from people using the outside area can be heard throughout his flat.

A condition of the existing licence states the playing of amplified sound in the function room and pub is only allowed if the sound is not clearly audible at the boundary of any residential premises, so as to be a nuisance.

Although Mr Chapman made calls to the out-of-hours environmental health officer on several occasions, he only received one visit, on August 13.

The officer agreed the noise would make it difficult to sleep, but no evidence of noise levels were presented.

Michael Collins has been landlord for two years. He said Mr Chapman never approached him about the problems.

Mr Collins said: “If that neighbour had come in to see me we could have talked about it. We’ve had no other complaints.”

“I’m a very reasonable person. I don’t like noise myself and I certainly wouldn’t allow that language.”

Mr Collins offered to move the smoking area if it would help, saying it was “not desirable, but possible”.

Mike Harris, chairman of the committee, said “conflicting evidence” on both sides made the committee’s task difficult, but he ruled the smoking area should be moved by November 30.

He also said ground surrounding the existing smoking area must only be used as a car park and customers should be discouraged from using it as a drinking area.

After the hearing Mr Collins said he was considering his options, including an appeal against the decision.