Complaints about noise coming from a popular pub and music venue have split town councillors in Keswick who want to see more evidence of the problem before tough action.
Councillors Allan Daniels and Alexandra Boardman have again raised complaints at a council meeting about the Crafty Baa in Bank Street saying they had been approached by members of the public.
Allerdale Borough Council is reportedly on the case over noise and Cllr Allan Daniels appealed to members of Keswick Town Council to “bolster” that by formally requesting that the borough council — in charge of licensing — also “review” the bar’s live music permissions.
But other town councillors were reluctant to go that far with Markus Campbell-Savours and Tony Lywood both pointing out that no-one in the community had complained to them about noise from the bar.
And Cllr Sally Lansbury, a town and borough councillor, has also warned against using a sledgehammer to crack a nut as she fears if the bar’s licence was revoked it could shut the venue down.
Instead, she suggested the town council raise a concern with Allerdale about live amplified music from the premises.
And Cllr Campbell-Savours suggested that without more evidence, the town council should stay out of the matter. But Cllr Daniels, deputy mayor of Allerdale and a member of its licensing committee, urged town councillors to support further intervention.
Cllr Daniels said: “These people have been annoyed by this noise ever since the Crafty Baa opened. This has been going on for months and months and months.”
Cllr Boardman emphasised that she was regularly stopped by people wishing to lodge complaints about the noise.
But Cllr Campbell-Savours said: “I would just like to say I have not received any representations on this issue at all.
“I respect that other councillors may have, but having received no representations, I want to know what the objections are around the Crafty Baa?
“I appreciate I have heard from councillors but I’ve not seen representations from the public who are affected by this.
“I’ve not heard any responses from the Crafty Baa if they are trying to deal with the matter or not,” said the Labour councillor, who represents Keswick on Allerdale.
County councillor Tony Lywood added: “I am on the same side as I haven’t had any representations from members of the public.”
Cllr Duncan Miller suggested the matter be reviewed at its meeting this month.
“I don’t doubt there’s a problem but we as a council would like some more information,” said Cllr Miller.
Vivien Little, clerk to Keswick Town Council, told members that it did not have any authority over the bar’s live music.
She said: “We cannot review their licence and we don’t issue any of their licenses as we are not the responsible authority.”
The bar has previously told the Reminder that it has made significant noise reduction measures and that complaints were being made by only a couple of residents.
It also stressed it wants to be a good neighbour.
