Venues 'need maximum protection' from new housing

An MP has called for greater protections for music venues against new housing developments.

Sunderland's Lewis Atkinson, of Labour, said the responsibility to "manage any noise issues has to sit solely with the new development" instead of the venue being asked to change its operations.

Independent, in Holmeside, said it had objected to multiple change of use applications recently over fears it could be forced to close if a noise complaint was lodged.

A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) spokesperson said: "Developers must outline the steps they will take to ensure any new housing is integrated effectively with existing venues in the area."

Independent has been operating in Sunderland for 20 years and has been on its current site for 13 of them.

There have been multiple examples of flat development proposals near the gig venue being thrown out by Sunderland City Council over noise concerns.

None of the developers had included plans on how to mitigate the issue, the venue said.

General manager of Independent, Ben Wall, said the venue was often open until 04:00 BST on weekends with gigs and club nights.

"We have nothing in principle against housing in the city and to be honest we're supportive of it for the right builds and the right places, and you know the more people in the city centre, that's more customers," Wall said.

"It's not like we're blindly putting objections in.

"But the problem is if a developer comes along and the premises changed into a residential property then they put a noise complaint against us that could shut us, there's no come back from us there."

Wall added developers could tackle the issue "properly" by adding adequate soundproofing in.

"There could be a noise complaint made against us and if we weren't able to fix that, that would us be shut, or restrictions placed on the business that make it impossible for us to trade," he said.

In Manchester, venue Night and Day Cafe was subject to a three-year legal battle with the council over noise complaints lodged by a neighbour in 2021.

It was eventually permitted to continue operating as a nightclub with noise-limiting restrictions in place.

Atkinson said he had been working with the Music Venue Trust "to push for maximum protection" for local venues, such as Independent, and spoke in Parliament last week to ask for the government to strengthen its rules.

"I want new houses built," he said on social media. "But the 'agent of change' principle has to be sacrosanct.

"This means that if there's new housing near an existing venue then the responsibility to manage any noise issues has to sit solely with the new development rather than the existing venue incurring cost of future complaints that might threaten visibility."

Speaking on Independent's experience with recent applications, Atkinson said "it shouldn't have taken time, money and worry from our music community to get to that point".

The MHCLG spokesperson said: "The National Planning Policy Framework is clear that developers are responsible for managing the impact of new housing built near grassroots music venues."

Liberal Democrat councillor and leader of the opposition on Sunderland City Council Paul Edgeworthsaid extra protections against noise complaints were welcome but the government was "planning to weaken planning laws which will make it easier to convert pubs, many of which are music venues, into houses, shops or takeaways".

The Conservatives also agreed music venues should be preserved, but Paul Holmes, shadow communities minister, said: "Labour should go further and expand these measures to cover other types of community assets, including pubs."

The Green Party and Reform UK were also contacted for comment.

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