There has been a 53% increase in noise complaints made against nighttime businesses in London since the pandemic, according to a new study by the Night Time Industries Association. This is indicative of a trend across the UK, the trade body says, with specialist lawyer Sarah Clover adding that the increase in disputes between nighttime businesses and neighbouring residents is now at a “crisis level”.
“Noise complaints form a significant proportion of my work and the numbers of cases are increasing dramatically”, says Clover, a licensing and planning barrister at Kings Chambers.
“This is a trend seen particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic” and “the costs of litigation present huge burdens for businesses and local authorities”.
These disputes and the resulting costs could be avoided, Clover argues, if we had properly “functioning licensing and planning regimes”. Local authorities and law-makers should seek to address these issues urgently, Clover adds, with long term solutions requiring legislation, but other improvements that could be made by local councils more quickly.
According to NTIA’s survey of 20 London councils, there were 2440 noise complaints in those boroughs in 2018, which increased to 3732 over a twelve month period in 2022 and 2023. The number of noise abatement notices being issued has also increased, from 34 in 2018 to 51 in the 2022/2023 twelve month time slot.
It is common for noise complaints made against pubs, clubs and venues to come from newer local residents when there has been no change to the night-time business’s operations.
The increase in noise complaints following the pandemic may be the result of new residents moving into properties near pubs, clubs or venues when those businesses were in enforced shutdown, and then complaining when the businesses re-opened.
That is what happened with the Night & Day venue in Manchester, which faced closure after being issued with a noise abatement notice targeting the club nights that are key to the viability of the business.
NTIA CEO Michael Kill says, “The substantial increase in noise complaints and noise abatement notices highlights a growing challenge our industry cannot tackle alone. These figures not only show a shift in community tolerance but also underscore the urgent need for balanced urban planning and licensing that supports both residents and businesses”.
The live and night-time sectors have long called for legal and other measures to mitigate the impact of noise complaints on night-time businesses. That includes ensuring that the ‘agent of change principle’ is embraced in planning applications. That principle says that developers building new residential properties near existing night-time businesses need to anticipate and mitigate upfront future issues around noise.
There are other practices that local authorities can employ too. NTIA commends an initiative in Hackney - the result of a partnership between the council and Music Venue Trust - which provides night-time businesses with resources and training, plus an early warning system and mediation service. The early warning system alerts licensed premises to noise reports about their venue within one working day, while the mediation service has reportedly achieved a high resolution rate.
NTIA says that it “advocates for a cooperative approach between operators, licensing and planning departments, ensuring businesses are fairly represented in noise and nuisance complaints without community bias”.
As well as supporting the agent of change principle, it says it “remains dedicated to working with government bodies, local authorities and community groups to preserve the vibrancy of the night-time economy while ensuring harmonious coexistence with local communities. Addressing these issues promptly and effectively is vital to prevent lasting negative impacts on the sector, cultural landscape, and economy”.