THE owner of a Poole pub found to have breached a noise abatement said he has been receiving 'mixed messages' from BCP Council and police.
The Sweet Home Inn on Ringwood Road was issued the notice on Thursday April 15, 2020 and was seen to be violating the code on Saturday April 17.
BCP Council said that officers also noted “several breaches” of the current Covid-19 regulations and guidance issued by the government.
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However, the pub landlord has complained about a lack of guidance from the council regarding the noise violations.
Having spent £25,000 erecting an outdoor bar and preparing the beer garden in anticipation of returning customers, owner Mark Copping said he is “annoyed” by the latest setback.
He said: “Last year we were forced to give into what the council said just so we could stay open but this year I am not having it.
“Councillor Caroline Edwards didn’t like what we are doing here. She said that the music was too loud and complained that it was too noisy and that it was a nuisance.
“The council have obviously told us what we can’t do but they haven’t been very constructive, they haven’t told us what the parameters are, what level is allowed, and what we could do to make this work.”
In reaction to the complaints they received last year, the pub now has musicians playing from 4pm to 6pm on Saturday or Sunday and closes its doors at 7.30pm.
Mark also said that he is receiving mixed messages from the council and then police, and, as of yet, has not dealt with an officer from the council, as the letter from BCP Council was given to a member of staff.
He added: “We had a police officer who came here on his day off with his wife and sat in our beer garden from 4pm to 5.15pm on Saturday April 17 during when we had music playing.
“He came up to me afterwards and said he had heard of noise complaints and wanted to check out what it was like on a busy day.
“The officer said that if there was any issues he would have come back here when he was working and would have given us a warning, but he said the volume level was at a level that was manageable, and he said that everything seemed under control.
“So now I don’t know who to listen to, the police and the council are telling me different things.
“I am not being confrontational; I am trying to work with it, but I haven’t been given much guidance from the council to go off. I am trying to do everything possible to keep the customers coming here.”
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