An Aberdeen student institution will take apart a beer garden in its car park after neighbours complained about living in “fear” of noisy revellers.
The Bobbin wanted to renew the licence for its seated area around the back of the King Street pub.
Owners Stonegate Group wanted to make it a permanent addition to the venue, having been pleased by its popularity since opening in response to Covid measures in August 2020.
Stonegate’s lawyer Audrey Junner told members of Aberdeen City Council’s licensing board that it had received no complaints from residents or visits from the police.
And she said the area had been a “lifeline” for the business through the pandemic.
‘It’s so close to our property…’
Prior to the meeting on Tuesday, five objections had been sent to the local authority.
One unhappy couple addressed members of the board directly.
Mr and Mrs Bowie, who have lived next door to the pub since 2010, told members that the outdoor space would have a “detrimental” impact on their lives.
She said: “We are really concerned about living permanently with a beer garden just on the other side of the wall.
“It’s the potential escalation of noise, and because it is so close to our property.
“I don’t think that promotes our health and well-being, all it promotes for us is fear and anxiety of escalated levels of noise, unfortunately.”
‘Having dozens of people over the wall ruins our garden’
Mr Bowie added: “If we have family round with young children and you’ve got a beer garden in the summertime full of people speaking away, smoking, it’s not in our health and well-being.
“You can potentially have 50 or 60 people over the wall.”
Councillor Alex McLellan moved to refuse the outdoor beer garden on the grounds that the rejection would prevent “public nuisance”.
You can watch the discussion here.
Some good news for The Bobbin despite beer garden blow
The board also considered an extension of the pub’s existing license to allow revellers to drink until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.
There was some relief for The Bobbin when councillors endorsed those plans.
It comes after councillors rubber-stamped plans for The Bike Yard on Hutcheon Street to come back on Mayday weekend, as long as they make efforts to keep the noise down:
