NEIGHBOURS V GLITZY PARKER McMILLAN CLUB IN NOISE BATTLE
Ex-civil servant: We’ve had enough of being wakened at 4am
Published: 09 July, 2010
by PETER GRUNER
BOSSES at one of Islington’s most glittering nightclubs are braced for a battle with a former top civil servant over early morning noise.
David Coleman, a retired director of the government’s Countryside Agency, will represent hundreds of disgruntled residents on the Barbican estate at an Islington Town Hall licensing hearing on Monday.
The residents, who complain they are being wakened in the early hours, have “called in” nightclub Parker McMillan’s licence for review under powers in the 2003 Licensing Act. The aim is to force the club to close at 11pm instead of the current 5am at the weekend.
The club, in Chiswell Street, boasts a “laid back” social arena based on music, cocktails and beer. The Drifters, Noel Gallagher, Franz Ferdinand and Jazzie B are among club guests and artistes who have performed there.
Mr Coleman, who lives at Cromwell Tower, said this week: “The customers seem to all bounce out of the club at the same time – at about 3am or 4am on Friday and Saturday. We get shouting, singing and people calling to one another.
“We get car horns from motorists trying to get through the crowd and car horns from minicabs touting for business. There’s music from car stereos.
“Many people get woken up by the noise, which lasts for about 30 minutes. Residents have had enough.”
Islington Council’s noise team has received 43 complaints about the club over three years. The team has visited the premises and complainants on 22 occasions.
“The frequency of complaints has increased each year,” says a noise team report. “The current premises are not protecting the neighbouring residents from noise disturbance. The team recommends that the licensed hours for the premises are reduced to 11pm.”
The club’s new marketing manager, Gary Dillon, said he was sorry that people were being disturbed.
“I’m reviewing everything that went on at the club before and am making immediate changes,” he said. “We want to engage with residents at the Barbican and sort out these problems.”
He said the club hopes to employ extra door staff to control crowds when they leave. Customers will have to wait inside the venue for taxis instead of milling around outside.
“We’re also warning people and acts who create noise that they will not be allowed back in the club if they continue,” he added.