Beloved Bournemouth bar fights noise complaint from neighbour
The neighbour who issued a noise complaint about Chaplin’s, in Boscombe, says she didn’t know the bar was there when she moved in
A long-established Boscombe music venue faces an uncertain future after a neighbour triggered a licence review, alleging years of intrusive noise from late-night crowds and live performances.
BCP Council’s licensing committee has since met to consider an application from Pearl Montgomery concerning Chaplin’s & The Cellar Bar, a bar that has traded for roughly 26 years.
Montgomery cited public nuisance caused by amplified music and customers gathering outside the premises.
Addressing councillors, she said she bought a flat next door in 2007, unaware at the time that the bar operated beside it.
She no longer lives in the property, which is now occupied by her son and his family, but told the committee the disturbance remains acute.
“I am not asking for the closure of Chaplin’s, it’s loved by the community,” she said. “What I am seeking is a solution to the noise leakage. This review is not about decibels, it’s about the real-life impact on my home.”
Representing the venue, Duncan Craig argued that some level of disruption is inevitable in busy neighbourhoods.
He said: “People who live on a busy street or next to a licensed premises cannot expect no interferences with their lives – that is just an unreasonable expectation.”
Rebecca Floodgate, speaking in support of the bar, added: “You are going to get a certain amount of noise, and you can’t switch off life and if people are there, they are going to be making some level of noise.”
Debate turned to whether an independent acoustic survey should be commissioned. Environmental health officer Paul Barker told the committee such tests can cost thousands of pounds and suggested it seemed “a bit unfair” given that “we haven’t actually established a nuisance exists”.
A final decision on the bar’s licence will be made following deliberations behind closed doors.