One of my favourite jazz venues, The Bull's Head, Barnes, is under threat - Jazz club faces closure after just one complaint.
I'm not sure who's more to blame - Stephanie Fallows, the stupid cow who moved in next door to one of the countries foremost and most famous jazz venues and then was surprised to find that they played jazz there, or Richmond upon Thames Council, who gave planning permission for building the flats in the first place.
Well, a total inability to find their arse with both hands is only to be expected from a local council.
A few tips for house hunters: If you don't like aircraft noise, don't buy a house near an airport. If you object to traffic noise, don't live on a high street. If you want silence in the evening, don't move next to a music club. And if you fuck up and do move somewhere you don't like, either sell up and piss off or just learn to live with it. Don't be utterly selfish and try to close down a club that's been running since before you were born and gives pleasure to thousands.
To express your support, you can email jazz@thebullshead.com. Anyone got an email address for Stephanie Fallows?
Posted to Music and Film by Simon Brunning at December 23, 2004 12:20 PMI used to play football for the civil service in Chiswick and the Bulls Head was a regular Saturday stop off. It'll be a great shame to see this great venue go the same way as many others have over recent years. You can be sure my email is winging its way in support right now.
Posted by: Andy Mac on December 23, 2004 02:13 PMSorry, but I feel the need here to defend the council. It really isn't so unusual to find pubs next to flats or houses now is it? And they are saying the soundproofing would cost £5k not £172k. And they are bound by the law - if someone complains, they take a sound reading and if it goes over the limit (which isn't set that low, as far as I know) they have to serve a notice. It's not discretionary. Give them a break.
Very sad about this club. Sounds as if Youngs needs to pull its finger out and what's-er-name needs to get a life.
Posted by: Katherine on December 23, 2004 02:15 PMAh, but the brewery pointed out the potential problem during the planning stages. Young's wanted to preserve a passageway that existed between the pub and its then neighbour. This was refused, and *that's* why there's a problem now. So the council *are* at least partly to blame.
Also, they were not obliged to give planning permission, since in order to do so, they had to re-zone the site from light-industrial to residential. They did this despite having been warned of the noise issue.
Posted by: Simon Brunning on December 23, 2004 03:33 PMYet another incompetetent council. Why does the public have to pay for thier blunders?
By way of losing an important music venue and no doubt financially.
Surely the enjoyment of the majority is more important than the whims of one very stupid woman.