All posts in the topic Rave parties (Short link)
Summary
- There are 5 posts — by 4 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Ian Preston at Sep 17 12:35 UTC
Dear forum members
The residents living in St Annes, near the Whitby Rd industrial estate are
being subjected to regular rave parties taking place in various industrial
units along the feeder Rd/Whitby Rd area. This is happening approxevery 6 weeks
with noise starting at 12.30 am and going on continuously until 10am - 11am
Sunday mornings. the noise is awful. We phone the Police and Council who seem
to imply that they can do very little.
We are now trying to organise a residents meeting with local councillors and
Police Beat Managers and are awaiting a response from them so that we can go
ahead with this.
If anyone can support us, or give us some hints or tips on how we can tackle
this nuisance. we would very much appreciate it.
Thank you
Hi Lorraine
I know that perhaps residents might feel a tad wary about doing this, but I
would really recommend going to the party when it first starts up and having a
word with organisers. In my experience, the people who run these parties are a
fairly decent sort. They will want to stay on the right-ish side of the law by,
for example, cleaning up litter, etc. because for them being able to run
parties is the most important thing. In talking to them you're not running the
kind of personal risk that you'd be running in confronting a group of drunk
lads out at night engaged in anti-social behaviour.
The organisers might be interested in working with residents and the police to
find a more suitable location, but it's always going to be difficult with
industrial estates.
Is this happening year round, or only in the summer? Again, I would think that
this is primarily a summer-time activity and would be constrained by the
weather. I know that there was a small sound system down on the bike path
across from Paintworks back in June, but I hadn't been aware of other events.
Clearly, this kind of noise pollution is hugely distressing for residents.
However, I would recommend that you work with police to approach the people
running these events to discuss the problems rather than simply going the
criminalisation route. There tends to be little to no violence at these events,
unlike some of the big parties that happen on our residential streets. A
diplomatic approach may be a useful way to begin, at least.
Brislington Community Partnership would certainly support your community in
trying to find a long-term effective solution.
All best
Angela Piccini
Just to update the forum:
We have contacted the City department that deals with noise pollution, but they
have confirmed that this is a Criminal Justice Act issue. Some of you may
remember 1994's Clause 58 (the non-repetitive beats clause), but the 2008
updates clarify issues around public gatherings and the transportation of
equipment for the amplification of sound. Brislington Community Partnership are
working with Avon and Somerset Constabulary to identify the actual locations of
these events and to try to mediate with organisers. Brislington East and West
Wards witness a range of late-night disturbances, from parties to large,
violent altercations.
If the Feeder Road parties impact on you, please attend one of the monthly
Community Partnership meetings at Wicklea as we always have police
representatives there who can discuss this matter with you.
All best
Angela Piccini
On Sat/Sun 13/14th September, we had to put up with the thumping of bass beats all night until 7:00am Sunday morning. Living off Newbridge Road, we were unable to work out in which direction the noise was coming from. In actual fact, it sounded louder from our north-facing bathroom. Going out to find where the party actually is may be a good idea, but there have been instances where the party has been set up in a warehouse somewhere near Temple Meads. Spark Evans Park has even been used in the past for the same. So, finally having enough, I called the City Council out-of-hours number at 7:00am to ask if there had been any complaints. Their answer was that no-one else had called in overnight. Looking to the regulatory side, what happened to the 2003 Licensing Act? We, as residents pay for the Council to take care of the licensing of events and a Rave is certainly, in my interpretation of the 2003 Act, an organised event with regulated entertainment. The 2003 Act requires the Council to carry out its licensing functions with a view to promoting the following specific objectives: 1. The prevention of crime and disorder; 2. Public safety; 3. The prevention of public nuisance; and 4. The protection of children from harm. In my book, all the objectives cover a Rave, as it's quite possible under 18s will be attending as well? The Council policy on the Act can be viewed at http://www.bristol.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset/?asset_id=22309028 Complain about a noisy Pub and there is a course of action that can be taken due to both the premises and operator being licensed. If it’s a Rave, no-one seems to want to take any action. In short, if I have a noisy party in my back garden and keep half of St. Annes awake all night, I bet the Police would be there, along with the Council Environmental Health Officer in minutes!
The closure of Bristol venues that once supported underground dance music and
culture is a likely driver for the increasing number of parties. The Maze has
shut (2000), The Depot has closed (2004) and now stands empty, Trinity is no
longer a regular club venue and shut for long periods of time & the council has
now granted planning permission for flats on the site of Lakota.
Predominantly a sustained lack of investment in the buildings has been a key
driver for closure of club venues in Bristol but this isnt the case for Lakota
or Clockwork. Lakota is one of the remaining clubbling venues for underground
dance music, I hear that it will now remain a club until the housing market
picks back up but will ultimately shut. Its therefore likely that the number of
unlicensed parties will increase at some point in the future.
The problem here is not just one of anti-social behaviour but also one of
poorly thought out planning - and guess what yet more flats for Bristol! There
are some families left in Bristol btw (if the planners are listing) but most of
them plan to move out of Bristol because they dont want to live in flats and
cant afford city centre prices.