7:30am Tuesday 19th January 2010
Updated: THE owner of a York nightclub said he was aware he was in “last-chance territory” as councillors met to review his licence following a dispute over noise.
A hearing at The Guildhall yesterday decided ten conditions should be added to the licence of Ziggy’s nightclub in Micklegate to cut noise pollution. The panel had the power to revoke the club’s licence if they felt it necessary.
The meeting followed complaints from a resident living nearby, who said the volume of music from the basement of Ziggy’s was too high and that a fire door was being left open by people going outside to smoke, leading to more noise.
Council environmental protection officers visited Ziggy’s a number of times last year. On June 24, the council issued a noise abatement notice to the club’s owner, Andrew Elliott. However on September 26, a further complaint was received by residents unable to sleep because of the loud music and a breach of the noise abatement notice was served, leading to a formal warning in November.
Mr Elliott told yesterday’s hearing that he had run ther club for the past 27 years and most of the complaints had come in the last two to three years.
After making several changes at the club to ease noise problems, he said: “I feel I have put everything in place and any further recommendations I will gladly look at.”
He confirmed he was “more than happy” to have the new conditions added to his licence, and said: “The staff there are under no illusion that we are getting into last- chance territory.”
The conditions, many of which had already been met by the club, include a noise reduction device on the sound system, regular “noise patrols” of the outside of the club, and door staff at the fire exit, to ensure it remains closed when not needed in an emergency.
Following the hearing, Mr Elliott thanked council staff and said: “I don’t want to fight any battle and I have tried to help in any way I can. “I don’t envision any problem in the future.”
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