Noise complaints: changes proposed to protect venues
Pubs and music venues may soon benefit from fewer noise complaints thanks to proposed updates to planning and licensing rules. Under the changes, developers hoping to build new properties close to an existing venue would be told to soundproof buildings. Dedicated areas, meanwhile, will see planning permission fast-tracked for new businesses and al fresco dining.
The government’s hope is that these changes would make it easier to open new bars in disused shops and promote outdoor drinking and dining. This is in a bid to reverse a decline that the pub industry has been experiencing. The changes, Labour said, would bring “vibrancy” to struggling towns. The Conservatives on the other hand blamed tax policy for “crippling the hospitality industry.”
Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray told BBC Breakfast that Labour was committed to remove “some of the red tape” that was preventing new cafes and music venues from opening. There was “too much bureaucracy” he said, that was holding back economic growth. He also admitted that the government’s decision to raise National Insurance and increase the Minimum Wage was having “consequences for businesses.”
The number of pubs in the UK had been steadily decreasing every year since 2000, the British Beer and Pub Association said. It estimated that 378 pubs would be closing in 2025 throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, causing over 5,600 job losses.
These proposals come amid multiple beloved pubs and music venues facing the possibility of closure over noise complaints, leading to campaigns in some parts of the UK.
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