A council licensing panel hearing was disrupted by heckling today (Monday 10 February) when people living in seafront flats voiced their anger with a bowling club at Hove Beach Park.
The residents talked over others in the meeting and complained about anti-social behaviour and noise, including loud music and “ageing Status Quo” bands.
The virtual hearing was interrupted at times as the Hove and Kingsway Bowling Club tried to overcome objections to its application for a club premises certificate.
The complaints, from people living in flats across the road, focused on noise and nuisance and what they said was a lack of action in response to complaints about the old venue.
The club is now based in a new clubhouse, part of the new outdoor sports hub building owned by Brighton and Hove City Council and built as part of the £15 million seafront revamp.
The club premises certificate is needed to permit the sale of alcohol and initially the club applied to sell drink from 11am to 1am Monday to Saturday. It has since changed the proposed end time for drink sales to midnight.
Robert Wild, who lives in the Aurum block, in Kingsway, said that neighbours of the bowls club’s old building had experienced “loud events” and did not consider the club to be a good neighbour.
Mr Wild said: “Historically, the club has become a bit overzealous with the events they are holding, in terms of the size, scale and noise levels.
“The extent of their licence and the hours they’ve applied for demonstrates that.
“We also think they have a brand new building and we know that Rockwater has held lots of events within their premises which are not disruptive and the application is moving away from the prime objective of the bowls club of providing sporting facilities to providing entertainment facilities.”
Ashley Daffin, who lives in the Fairlawns block, in Kingsway, and also spoke on behalf of the freeholder, asked for assurances that alcohol would be sold only to club members.
Mr Daffin said that the neighbours had had constructive discussions with Babble, which has opened on the upper floor of the building.
They wanted to make sure that there would not be two licensed commercial premises opposite their home or any music outside the premises.
He said: “We have made formal complaints to Brighton council on this – to the environmental noise team – and the bowls club ignored all the requests for moderation and a reasonable set of behaviour.
“I’m not prepared to be driven out of my apartment due to a particular choice of music every single Sunday during the summer without consideration for the neighbours at all.”
Fairlawns resident Julie Tessler said that she was not sure how neighbours might deal with musical events happening at several venues in the new park.
She said: “The bowls club in the past has shown no respect for any of the neighbours when I have gone over and politely asked ‘could you turn it down’ because at the end of the day there is no such thing as a quiet rock band.
“I love concerts. I’ve been to more than you could shake a stick at. But when it’s an ageing Status Quo rock band playing so loud when you have to have your windows closed on a beautiful summer’s day, that’s against my human rights to enjoy my own apartment.”
Ms Tessler manages Fairlawns grounds and said that she found people urinating in the gardens. She said that she received abuse from people when she asked them to leave the block’s doorway after they had left a Christmas party held at the club.
The bowls club’s agent Nick Semper, founder of the Licensing Guys, said that the application was to put back in place what the club had in its previous premises.
Mr Semper said that there did not appear to have been any complaints to the authorities since the bowls club moved in two months ago.
And the application did not include outdoor music, he said. Live and recorded music were not regulated before 11pm.
Hove and Kingsway Bowls Club has existed in various forms since 1896 and has about 700 members aged 13 to 95. The clubhouse has a capacity of 140 people.
Neighbours were given assurances that events would not spill outside on to the bowling greens, not least because it was not acceptable to stand or walk on the lawn when not playing.
Mr Semper said that the hearing had been called to decide the application and not to review what might have gone on before.
He said that there was no evidence of disorder or noise complaints in the papers presented to the panel which led to a number of outraged comments from the neighbours.
But the council’s licensing and environmental health teams did not object to the application nor did Sussex Police.
The environmental health team asked for conditions to include a requirement that a responsible person monitor the music volume and that all doors and windows should stay closed unless people were arriving or leaving.
Deliveries should take place between 7am and 9pm and no noise or vibration should come from the building. A direct telephone number for the manager should also be publicly available.
Mr Semper said that, if necessary, the club would be willing to accept a condition that required a noise limiter to be installed.
The panel – councillors David McGregor, Ivan Lyons and Alison Thomson – retired to reach their decision which should be made public within five working days.
Not ageism but think the objectors tag are confused-
Rock water used to be a stag and hen place that people fell out at all kinds of hours (am)
I’ve been in the bowls club the only outrageous thing to happen is you might find false teeth in your glass if you put it down.
Have these busybodies got nothing else todo-there’s there’s double glazing on the bowling club, then 35 yards of bowling green and then a 4 carriageway rd (a259) and off course there own double glazing and that’s over the sounds of the seagulls!
Really reminds me of how sad and selfish curtain twitchers are and the need to get out there and enjoy themselves instead of moaning as part of a residents association!
Wholeheartedly agree with Craig’s comment! The sheer distance from the bowls venue the the nearest residential building is vast, plus it’s a bowls club! I’ve been there on many occasions and the clientele are not louts, they’re more likely from Last of The Summer Wine!
That factory-style building is a monster on the once-beautiful Hove seafront. How on earth was it allowed? Knock it down and start again. And that awful tennis court which looks like a prison exercise yard. This is supposed to be a tourist resort and Regency city. It seems to be run by those who hate it.
I agree – this is a terrible design. Only the council themselves could have got this shocker through the council planning process!
I agree, I walk past it every morning and it really depresses me. It is so badly thought out and ugly, the worst part is the Aircon unit stuck on the front in a cage right over the main entrance.
“The residents drowned out others in the meeting with their complaints about anti-social behaviour and noise, including loud music and “ageing Status Quo” bands.”
Zero need for this sort of behaviour.
It distracts from any valid case the objectors may have had.
Decisions are made based on the law and force of arguments not who makes the most noise.
I completely agree with you Chris. The irony of complaining about antisocial noise by being antisocially noisy is not lost on me.
It’s also an approach that historically has never resulted in positive change, and just serves to alienate. Far better to provide amicable debate, reason, and logic backed with information where possible.
It’s why I like your comments, Chris.
I live near the Bowls Club and aside from the odd noisy Sunday afternoon in the Summer rarely hear any music. The place seems dead most of the time
The new clubhouse presumably cannot stage outdoor music as it goes straight on to the bowling greens.
I’d be amazed if we hear much noise coming out of the new clubhouse
This is just snobbery. These residents live in BRIGHTON, right by the seafront. There’s going to be entertainment. If you don’t like it, move.
No that’s Hove where even seagull noise is not acceptable, these particular neighbours should be living in rest home