Until now there has been no record of venues plagued by licensing problems. Today we put that right with the Live Music Forum Venues page. A webpage dedicated to the stories of small gigs and festivals that are being closed down by local authorities who often exceed their mandate. You can visit or link to the page at,
http://www.livemusicforum.co.uk/lmfvenues.htm
One of the ongoing problems live music venues have had to deal with is noise complaints from neighbours with less than reasonable grounds. A long standing popular venue with an important place in the community can lose it's license to host live music on the basis of a single complaint, often from somebody who has recently moved into the area in full knowledge that an entertainment venue operated nearby.
Unfortunately, the Licensing Act 2003 seems to have made it easier for Council Licensing Departments to withdraw live music permission based on anecdotal complaints from a single source. We have heard of a single complainer leafleting the local area in order to whip up anti-venue feeling.
So, while the new Government is working out how to best honour the promises of their manifestos, perhaps now is a good time to review some of the licensing aspects which weigh heavily in favour of residential minorities and the crippling rules and charges which are putting most of the small festivals out of business.
Phil Little
The legal costs of seeing through an appeal process can be crippling for a small business and many don't make it
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