Licence review adjourned to see if noisy fan can be made quieter

A restaurant owner said that work was taking place to try to resolve problems with a noisy fan.

David Toscano, 48, who owns Cin Cin Italian Bar and Kitchen, in Western Road, Hove, spoke about the fan at a Brighton and Hove City Council licensing panel hearing today (Wednesday 27 May).

The panel held a review of Cin Cin’s licence after a neighbour complained that the extractor fan at the premises was causing a “statutory nuisance”.

After three hours of discussion about the noise nuisance, the panel of three councillors – Julie Cattell, John Hewitt and Kerry Pickett – adjourned the hearing to learn whether work under way manages to address the noise issue.

Mr Toscano said that the work was taking place this week to fit a new fan controller to try to control the noise.

The hearing came about after neighbour Rita Congiu asked the council to review the premises licence on the grounds of the protection of children from harm and the prevention of public nuisance.

She experienced a “low-pitched, sharp mechanical humming” and louder than normal traffic levels, going on for 12 to 14 hours a day, five days a week, including Saturdays and occasionally Sundays.

Ms Congiu told the panel that she contacted Mr Toscano after the noise started in April last year when the business installed the new fan.

Initially, the noise was blamed on scaffolding but, when that was removed, she said that the noise was worse.

When Mr Toscano told her the installers would not carry out any more work on the fan, she contacted the council’s environmental health team.

In January this year, the environmental health team agreed that the noise constituted a “statutory nuisance” and issued an abatement notice.

Mr Toscano has appealed against the notice and a preliminary hearing is due to take place in the magistrates’ court next month.

Ms Congiu said: “The noise hasn’t changed. It’s still quite loud. It still operates the same hours as of (Wednesday) 1 April when I first submitted the licence review request.

“It was quite loud, constant for 10 to 12 hours a day.”

Statements from neighbours Jonathan Barrowman and Victoria Whitehead supported her complaint as did Mary Sassi, from nearby business Hidden Hearing.

Councillor Hewitt told Ms Congiu that revoking or suspending the alcohol licence would not stop the fan from working because the kitchen would still be able to operate.

At the hearing, Councillor Hewitt put forward a potential suspension of the business’s late-night refreshment licence, which allows for food and hot and cold soft drink sales after 11pm, to address the noise.

Mr Toscano said that Cin Cin takes its last booking at 9.30pm and the kitchen would not need to have the fan operating after 11pm.

He said that the fan installed in April last year was replaced last June because of the noise concerns and the business had been looking at ways to reduce the effects on neighbours.

Mr Toscano said: “This is the wrong forum for this and this was the conversation I had with licensing when this first arose because of the shorter timetable for this process, that it was very likely that the noise abatement proceedings would still be ongoing, which they are.

“The works that we were investigating to find a solution are ongoing, which we hope to bring to a close very soon, ideally this week. But we have no control over the timing of this hearing.

“I would respectively caution from the respondent side, that we are not hamstrung in our ability to operate the business through the licensing activities, when that’s not really what this subject matter is about.”

The panel agreed to adjourn the meeting to assess the difference made by a proposed new speed controller once it is installed.

Labour councillor Julie Cattell, who chaired the panel, said that Mr Toscano had spoken in good faith and work was under way to resolve the problem.

Addressing the neighbours, Councillor Cattell said: “What I would ask of David (Toscano) is that he keeps in contact with you all and lets you know what is happening.”