3:10pm Saturday 6th February 2010
A mother says she and her daughter have been forced to move out of their town centre home at weekends to avoid deafening noise and abuse from drunken revellers visiting a newly opened bar.
Hannah Farren, who lives at Devonshire Place, Skipton, with husband Tommy and their three daughters, says the trouble is caused by customers going to the The Place Sports Bar which opened next door in December.
Hannah, 35, said her two youngest daughters manage to sleep through what she describes as the “mayhem” outside, but her 13-year-old is kept awake by pub-goers shouting obscenities.
Hannah says the pub, which opens until 1am on Friday and Saturday, used to be a restaurant and claims she had no notification about its change of use even though it has had a terrible effect on family life.
“My nerves are shot to bits. The swearing and screaming outside my house goes on all night long,” said Hannah.
“It’s so bad that I and my eldest daughter go to my mum’s to sleep at weekends. Our house faces a car park, which is used as a short cut for people who have been drinking in Newmarket Street.
“They’re on their way to The Place before going on to Strata nightclub. The noise is unbelievable. They swear and urinate in the street. It’s disgusting.
“There was a group of around 30 lads outside our window last weekend making horrendous noise – it was intolerable.
“Due to the smoking ban, there are also big groups standing outside The Place, being extremely rowdy. I’ve lived in the middle of town all my life but I’ve never encountered such bad anti-social behaviour.”
Hannah’s neighbour Kath Broady, 50, who has lived in Devonshire Place for three years, said her life was also a misery due to loud-mouthed louts.
“When I moved in it was a restaurant not a bar. We had no notification it was going to change and only found out when a notice went up in the window,” she said.
“I’m partially blind and disabled and it’s very upsetting to be kept awake until 3.30am.” Hannah has told police and Craven District Council’s environmental health department is now monitoring the noise levels.
The Place manager Craig Borrill expressed his sympathy.
He said it had not been necessary to make a fresh application for a drinks licence when the restaurant became a sports bar.
“When it was Nosh there were some issues but not as drastic as at the moment,” he said.
“But if you live in the town centre it’s inevitable you will get noise at night. There are some who want to see how far they can push it in terms of alcohol limits.
“But it’s a cultural problem that’s affecting the whole country, not just Skipton, and I think now Christmas is over things should go back to normal.”
He said the pub had taken steps to minimise noise, including not allowing customers outside with drinks on the patio after 11pm and security staff were “helping to police outside”.
He believed matters would improve if street lighting was provided in Devonshire Place car park and would be willing to share costs with the owner.
“If I see people misbehaving, I talk to them myself. I take personal responsibility beyond the four walls of The Place and I check round and about the streets to make sure they are tidy when we have closed,” he said.
Mr Borrill said the bar intended to serve food from March and this may help.
Inspector Craig Linton said the police had met the licensee when the bar opened, outlining specific issues regarding keeping disorder to a minimum.
“Regular highly visible patrols are carried out on weekends at all licensed premises in Skipton,” he said.
“Incidents of alcohol-related disorder and violence have continued to reduce in Skipton over the past 12 months. We do take anti-social reports seriously and liaise with our partner agencies to deal with them.”
Tim Bassett, environmental protection manager for Craven District Council, said: “The council has received complaints about The Place. Officers monitored the premises over the weekend and staff will continue to work with the management of The Place to resolve the problems.”
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