Bar owner in court after neighbours complain about '˜thudding bass' live music

Ben Bartrip has pleaded not guilty to four counts of failing to comply with noise abatement notices after complaints from nearby residents over loud music from The Victualler Harbourside Bar & Restaurant in Royal Clarence Yard, Gosport.

Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard how rock bands were playing live music at the venue that resulted in neighbours’ floors vibrating and words to songs being clearly audible from apartments nearby.

A marquee had also been put up to stage events.

‘I could hear very loud music playing from a band with clearly identifiable lyrics as well as a thudding bass,’ Craig Perkins, a senior environment health officer for Fareham and Gosport Environment Partnership, told magistrates after inspecting the area following a complaint in June last year.

‘You could even hear the music as if it was in the resident’s flat when the window was shut. The windows were vibrating a lot too.

‘The music was far too loud and amounted to a nuisance.’

Claire Terry, a senior environmental health technical officer for Fareham Borough Council, told the court she visited the bar in November following further complaints from residents.

She offered Bartrip advice on how to reduce the noise, including using an acoustic engineer to help address issues.

Defence solicitor Mr Cook said the Grade II-listed building had particular acoustics, including its chimney flue, that, combined with the hard surfaces and buildings around the bar, meant sound was amplified.

He also claimed residents and Gosport Borough Council had an axe to grind against the popular venue.

‘The council has taken the attitude that any noise disturbance in the area is due to the bar,’ he said.

‘The volume could be acceptable but the bass can travel and cause vibrations.’

When Mr Cook asked Ms Terry if the hard surfaces could lead to an increase in sound by the time they got to residents’ flats, she said it was ‘probable’.

Richard Gustar, environmental health technical officer for Fareham Borough Council, said during a visit in August last year the noise was ‘in the top 10 out of hundreds of places’ he had visited over complaints.

Karen Brett, a senior environmental health technical officer for Fareham and Gosport Borough Councils, said she believed the noise amounted to a nuisance with the music ‘clearly audible and the bass significant’.

Bartrip, 42, of Weevil Lane, Gosport, denies the charges relating to August, October and November last year.

(Proceeding)