Punters visiting the only pub in Torphins this weekend might end up thinking they’ve entered a library by mistake…
The owners of the one bar in the Aberdeenshire village have been ordered to keep the noise down – or face losing their licence.
It comes after their upstairs neighbour lodged hundreds of complaints with the council.
The ruling will mean no music after 11pm on Friday or Saturday nights, and bosses admit they’ll even be forced to shush any revellers if they raise their voice.
They now fear an inevitable downturn in trade could cost them their jobs – and the community an “essential” gathering place.
But council licensing chiefs say the strict sanction is needed, as previous warnings about the volume have been ignored…
What does the Learney Arms mean to Torphins?
The Learney Arms has been at the heart of Torphins for almost 150 years – described as an “essential part of village life”.
When plans to turn it into housing were submitted in 2015, locals rallied to save the beloved bar.
In the end, after 232 letters were submitted to Aberdeenshire Council, the proposal was refused.
It was thereafter refurbished and opened under the management of Abu Chowdhury of Bengal Dish Ltd, serving up Indian cuisine too.
Their lawyers say they’ve “made a success of the business in a very difficult market, much to the appreciation of the local community”.
How did dispute over The Learney Arms noise begin?
The current spat dates back to 2018, when the flat above the pub was sold.
Solicitor David Scott, representing Bengal Dish Ltd, told a recent Aberdeenshire Council licensing meeting that the lack of soundproofing was an issue then.
Mr Scott claimed the price of the property was slashed from £160,000 to £100,000 due to the work required to muffle noise from the premises below.
The Leadingham Chalmers lawyer stressed: “There has been no change to the operation of the premises.
“It is the upstairs proprietor that has created a conflicting land use, and failed to install the relevant sound insulation.”
What are the noise complaints?
The noise complaints all come from the upstairs neighbour, who has sent 400 recordings to the council over the past few years.
An “abatement notice” was first served in August 2021 by the local authority’s environmental health team.
It came after the neighbour used a “noise app” on his phone to take a recording where “levels were so high that the song being played downstairs was clearly identifiable”.
The notice was withdrawn the next month, “following improvements”.
But officers say noise levels “creeped up” again in the weeks afterwards.
Both sides had the chance to “air grievances” during peace talks in November 2021 – and an agreement to stop playing music at midnight on Fridays and Saturdays was reached.
‘It’s being played loud deliberately to annoy me’
The situation soon “deteriorated” again and workers returned last March to impose another warning, after more complaints from the neighbour.
Then, last December, Mr Chowdhury was hit with a £400 fine.
Earlier this year, the upstairs neighbour was convinced that the owner was playing music “deliberately loud to annoy me and my family”.
Logging his dismay on the noise app at 11.50pm on February 17, he said the noise was intolerable even when there were “no customers” in.
Why did council say drastic step was needed?
A council report states: “Every opportunity was given to the business owner to seek ways to reduce the noise levels.
“However he repeatedly chose to continue playing music loudly beyond 11pm knowing it was causing an issue to his neighbours above.
“The noise levels, given how late they go on, impact considerably on the enjoyment of the property above the premises, in particular the sleep of those residing above.”
Ultimately, this March, the council’s environmental health department demanded that councillors step in.
What happened at crunch meeting?
The years of unrest all came to a head at the recent meeting of Aberdeenshire Council’s licensing committee.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr Scott from Leadingham Chalmers suggested that the upstairs neighbour was simply trying to get the pub to pay for the much-needed soundproofing.
And he stressed that the unhappy villager was a former regular, well aware of the nature of the premises.
But his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The board agreed that the pub was “failing to prevent public nuisance”, and pledged to send the businessman a written warning.
The Learney Arms has now been ordered to ensure that “noise from amplified and non-amplified music, singing and speech shall not be audible in adjoining properties after 11pm”.
Who do you think is in the right? Let us know in our comments section below
Where does this leave The Learney Arms?
The Torphins institution employs five full-time and two part-time workers from the village nestled in the countryside between Banchory and Aboyne.
Speaking after the meeting, management told us the entire operation could now be at risk.
A spokeswoman said: “It was totally not fair.
“I’m not saying the person upstairs is entirely wrong… He probably can hear the noise.
“But my question is why he would buy a property above a hospitality establishment.”
The bar appears unrepentant in this Facebook post:
‘If there’s no music there will be no atmosphere…’
The spokeswoman added: “Now we will have to switch the music off at 11pm on the weekends, any volume would be considered too loud.
“If there’s no music playing then there’s no atmosphere.
“But it applies to noise from customers too, and we can’t just tell people to shut up.
“We are quiet all through the week, and it’s at the weekends when we get most of our trade.
“And we worry it’s just a matter of time until people realise there’s no atmosphere in this place after 11pm, and just stop going.”
Watch the meeting here:
Can venue appeal against sanctions?
The spokeswoman voiced fears that any appeal process could be prohibitively expensive, leaving bosses unsure about taking action.
She said: “This is obviously going to have a huge negative impact.
“If we were to close down, which could be imminent… This is our livelihood we are talking about.”
Music ban has echoes of Covid rules
The businesswoman added: “We fully intend to put soundproofing in at our side, which would cost more than £10,000, but it might not be enough without the upstairs neighbour doing their bit.
“What can you do? We can’t close early, then we would lose whatever customers we have left.
“Back in Covid we used to have posters up saying people couldn’t shout or scream, to prevent the virus spreading.
“Now we might have to put them back up.”
Learn more about the noise app used to record complaints with local authorities here.
Conversation