Council jobsworths banned live music in my seaside pub garden... after neighbours in £1.5m mansions next door complained it was 'too loud' - it could cost us £60k
A
popular seaside pub has been banned from holding music
events in its beer garden after neighbours in £1.5million
mansions allegedly complained to the council.
The
Lord Raglan, situated in the picturesque town of Emsworth,
Hampshire, is known for its live music and sports screenings
held outdoors during the summer months.
Up
to 300 people packed out the pub during the Euros semi-final
this summer, while families from nearby Portsmouth and
further afield visit to enjoy their free gigs.
But
now, pub landlords Victor and Naomi Tewkesbury, have been
left devastated after being handed a ‘noise abatement
notice’ from the local council, effectively banning them
from hosting any events involving ‘speech, singing or music’
in their garden.
The
couple also fear they could miss out on up to £60k a year in
lost earnings from the ban.
Mr
Tewkesbury told MailOnline: ‘It’s just really difficult to
try and get your head around.
‘What have we actually done wrong to have this thrown at us?
It feels like we’re being unfairly targeted.’
It
comes after Havant Borough Council claims neighbours have
lodged complaints about noise levels.
The
Tewkesburys however, insist they have not had any residents
complain to them, and say music is always kept to an
appropriate volume, with events brought to an end by 6pm.
Victor and Naomi, who are appealing the notice, said: ‘The
council got in touch and simply said the pub has had a noise
abatement order before, and you’re going to get one again.
‘It
had a noise abatement order prior to when we took over
because they used to have garden raves and things like that
and that was just too much.
‘But
we only hold day events with DJs playing vinyl, that kind of
thing, which stops at 6pm.
‘It’s on a Saturday, once a month through the summer months,
so three months.
‘And
then we had our summer sessions, which all the pubs around
her do, where he had a guy with a guitar. In total, it was
six events across the summer.
‘The
latest any of our music events have gone on is 9pm, and that
was one time.
'And
we carry out noise limitation tests using a decibel meter.'
Asked whether they knew who the complainants were, Victor
said they believed one of them to be the residents of a
£1.5m new-build mansion next door.
However, it is unclear who in fact did lodge the complaint
to the council.
A
resident at one of the mansions confirmed to MailOnline that
he did not lodge a complaint, saying he did not see the
noise as a 'major problem'.
The
two contemporary mansions, which locals say 'look out of
place', were built just metres away from the pub garden in
2021.
Planning permission was granted for the homes to be built in
2017, despite 175 objections received from locals at the
time who said it would ruin the 'special, historic character
of Emsworth'.
Victor told MailOnline: ‘The council have been very very
vague on the number of complainants, dates of complaints,
and all that sort of thing.
'But
one of these big houses right next door to us, the guy who
lives there came in for one of the songs sessions and he was
in here drinking, having a good time.
‘I
had a good chat with him, and I’d asked him, “Is it too
loud?”
'He
said “No, a lot of the stuff you do is really nice”.
‘But
then when I was out the back one day, the wife let slip that
he’d complained about one of the events because he didn’t
like the type of music being played.
‘I
thought to myself, "you were in here enjoying it the other
day".’
Speaking of the impact the ban will have on their business,
Victor and Naomi said: ‘We only took over the pub in April
2023, and we picked it up out of a hole. It wasn’t in the
best condition.
‘And
then we got flooded in April this year and lost a lot of
stuff. So it’s just been one thing after the other.
‘We
can’t show football, which we did through the summer. Can’t
have music, can’t have comedy shows.
‘It
feels like we’ve just found our feet and started to make a
success of it, and we’ve been kicked in the teeth.
‘It’s okay now, but next summer, it will sting.
‘We
feel that a minority has completely overruled the majority.
I would say 95 per cent of the neighbours come in here. They
love the music.
‘There’s a lot of time and effort that goes into each event.
And when people complain about it for what we think is not a
very good reason, it’s just not very nice.'
Victor told of how important the revenue from their outdoor
summer events is for carrying them through the rest of the
year.
He
said: ‘We’ll be losing tens of thousands as a result of
this.
‘If
the Women’s Euros is even half as busy as the men’s were
this year, we’d be losing around £50-60,000 next year,
easily, from not showing it.
‘Your summer pays your winter, and our garden is what is
special here.’
A
notice stuck up at the entrance and side of the pub
informing customers of the petition
The
couple, who say they tried to reason with the council's
environment officer over how to solve the problem but to no
avail, have started a petition against the notice.
It
can only be signed inside the pub and has exceeded 400
signatures.
They
also say they complained to the council over the environment
officer's conduct, alleging he was 'rude'.
One
neighbour, who lives directly next to the pub, said he was
not at all disturbed by the music.
Michael De Waele, 62, said: ‘I literally live next door and
the music does not bother me at all.
‘The
day in question, I left the pub at 6pm, and the music went
on until 9pm.
‘Between 6pm and 9pm I couldn’t hear anything from my house,
unless I was in my kitchen with the window open. Then I
could just about hear it.
‘I
think it’s terrible they’ve banned them. Luckily, it’s come
now as winter is coming, but it’s just unfair.
‘Another of my neighbours, he was in the pub garden that
day, and I asked him, and he had no complaint.
‘None of my neighbours, and I get on with all of them, have
a single complaint.
‘Even if I could hear it, and I couldn’t, I would have let
it go. It’s a lot of people having fun, so why put a dampner
on it? You’ve got to have a bit of a give and take. People
are just too fussy.
‘It’s what, four or five times a year, for a few hours.
Wouldn’t you just put up with it? It’s not exactly like it’s
gone on so late it’s past your bedtime or anything like
that.
‘It
was only around once a month. I think it’s very unfair to be
quite honest.'
However, another neighbour who lives a few doors down from
the historic pub, but not in the £1.5 newbuild mansions,
said the noise from the events was ‘intrusive’ and admitted
he had made a complaint to the council.
He
said: ‘I complained to the council about the noise and I’m
glad it’s been cancelled.
‘It
was just too noisy and they went on too late. And there
would be people outside shouting all night. I could hear it
from in my house.
‘It
was loud and it went on late and it’s just intrusive.
‘I
did try and go to the pub once to speak to them about it,
but I got no response so I didn’t bother.’
Another woman, who works in a home close to the pub, echoed
the same concerns, saying: ‘Thank God they’ve been
cancelled. It was quite a disturbance, the noise. It was
really loud.
‘I
work here full-time, and from my window it’s actually an
absolute nightmare. It’s very noisy.
‘I
always have to shut the window, and even then there are
people that come around here and urinate around here.
They’re jumping around and exposing themselves.
‘So,
it can be bad after the events finish too.
‘Over the summer it felt like it was every Saturday, and
they go on till 10pm.
‘I
really was a nuisance during the summer.
‘It
felt like we were in Hyde Park, that’s how loud it was.’
One
of the residents of the two £1.5million new-build houses,
however, said he didn't have an issue with the events, and
could 'never hear them late at night'.
The
man said: ‘I don’t have a major problem with it. It may be
because I can’t really hear it from my side of the house.
‘But
I can see that confining it to indoors is better. I support
that.
‘It’s probably fair enough, they’ve probably shot themselves
in the foot with the garden.
‘That said, I don’t think the events are bad at all. I never
hear them late at night.’
Meanwhile, locals fans of the pub said living so close to it
was always going to come with noise.
Jeff
Saunders, 62, said: ‘The way I see it, it’s as simple as
this. Why buy a house next door to a pub if you have an
issue with noise?’
His
wife Anne agreed, as she added: ‘It’s disgusting that the
council have banned it. It’s awful, terrible, because it is
known for its live music.
‘It’s not like they play music till silly o’clock.
‘We
love that pub. If we can, we go. They’ve got some good
quality acts.
‘Businesses have got to thrive, and it’s not fair to start
saying you can’t do this and you can’t do that.
‘Pubs are dying out, aren’t they?
‘I
just think it’s such a shame because that was their niche,
that was their selling point. They are renowned for their
live music, there were some brilliant music events there in
the summer.'
Another neighbour, who has a young child, said: 'I don't
have a problem with it at all. They're really quite
considerate.
'They're usually done before the little one is even up. The
summer events are quite nice and finish early.
'We
don't personally have a problem with it, it's not been a
disturbance to us.'
Close by, another pub in Emsworth said they have been
experiencing similar run-ins with the council and angry
neighbours.
The
pub landlord said: 'We have the same here from the
neighbours so I really do feel for them.
'It
was 6.15pm on a Bank Holiday weekend in August, the singer
had stopped, and I had neighbours come around with their
cameras, video recording and saying they're going to report
us.
'Two
weeks later I had a call from the environment officer.
'With one of the neighbours, we had to call the police in.
Constantly harassing me by message, up at the windows
recording, and he was warned for harassment.
'Now, in terms of the neighbours, I'm trying to kill them
with kindness.
'I've had to pay for extra security staff to stand at each
entrance and exit to ensure everything is kept under
control.'
Another pub landlord in the centre of Emsworth, Adi
Wright-Sheen said: 'For the Lord Raglan, their USP is the
garden in the summer. That's what is special about it.
'And
it's incredible, just so good.
'They've got brilliant events there in the summer.
'You
take that away from them and it's unfair. It's their
livelihoods.
'It's down the road from me so that's my local pub and I
love it.
'The
way you have to see it is, it's a handful of people
complaining, we think anyway.
'But
you've got 400 people walking into the pub and signing the
petition. It shows just what people living around here think
about it.'
A
council spokesperson said: 'Havant Borough Council has
received a number of complaints in relation to noise coming
from the Lord Raglan’s garden during live music events.
'Following the complaints, an officer from the council’s
Environmental Health department visited the area during such
an event to assess the level of noise.
'The
officer directly observed the sound from differing locations
and concluded that the complaints were justified due to the
effect the noise level would have on an average, reasonable
person, as per the relevant legislation.
The
officer could have served a Noise Abatement Notice
immediately, but instead he contacted the business to
discuss the issues. He then also wrote to the business,
giving them seven days to suggest ways they could reduce the
noise level from amplified music in their garden
sufficiently enough to not cause further nuisance to
residents.
'Only when the business did not suggest any measures they
could put in place to reduce the noise levels was a Noise
Abatement Notice issued.
'The
notice does not prohibit music events at the pub but does
require the business to take steps to abate the noise
nuisance to residents.
'The
business has lodged an appeal against the notice with the
magistrates’ court.'
Page updated:
Monday February 03, 2025