What can we do about pub across the road from our house.

[pubissues]

We live on a fairly quiet residential street. We live directly opposite a pub. It’s been there for years. We’ve lived here 10 years and never had a problem with it before. We have always heard some noise but nothing excessive. Landlords have always been respectful of their neighbours.

It changed hands about a year ago. New owner has invested loads in the pub and done it up. It’s become massively popular which is great for the new owner but rubbish for us. Obviously with the football it’s even busier.

They are now licensed to be open till 12.30 Friday and Saturday nights. They are slow at kicking people out and never seem to ask people to move on if they are standing outside talking (it is more like screaming because people are loud when they’ve been drinking!) It’s often after 1.30am before it quietens down. They have put 4 portaloos outside the pub, directly in front of our lounge windows. It’s still not enough toilets so there are people constantly leaving the pub, going down the road slightly and pissing in the hedges. Last night they were coming into ours and the neighbours drive and pissing on our drive. People congregate out the front of the pub all night long and are never asked to go back inside. They seem to allow people to leave carrying their glasses and glass bottles. Which are then dropped and smashed all the way along the road. The pub only has a couple of parking spaces out the front. There is a big car park about 5 mins walk away which is free in the evening. But people park all the way along our road including blocking drives so we can’t get our cars out.

we bought a house opposite a pub, we don’t expect silence. But this is ridiculous. The new manger actually went round to us and all the neighbours this week to apologise as there had been complaints (not from me.) I told him my issues and he said he would try to improve things, but I’m not seeing any evidence of this. What can we do? I don’t want to mess up someone’s business but this is getting out of hand and it’s getting worse not better. I’m going to go and speak to the manager today. But if nothing changes who do we go to? Is it the license people at the council, or is it a noise complaint? Can we raise the parking and littering with anyone? I really don’t want to start making official complaints but I don’t know what else to do at the moment.

I would contact the council and report them for noise and breaking the licensing laws. Its not on with the amount of hassle going on

Your post nails it. You bought a house opposite a pub. You can’t complain about nuisance when you go to the nuisance.

You could check if there is a Public Spaces Protection Order for the area. For example, Winchester City Centre has a PSPO which restricts

"Behaving in a manner, either as an individual or within a group of people, which is likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, whilst being in possession of an open container of, or consuming alcohol. This does not include licensed premises."

You could ask for the local Police Community Support Officers to patrol the area and monitor.

I think you could highlight the recent changes to your local MP and ask for them to be reversed, particularly the extended hours. A pub has to fit in with the community and at the moment they aren't.

Well there are only another 7 days to go in the World Cup, so after that, presumably, the portaloos will go as will much of the late-night drinking and noise.
After that I would give it a couple of weeks, but there is no harm in highlighting to the landlord the littering etc. or mentioning that clients are electing to relieve themselves in neighbouring gardens/driveways.
I am not sure how responsible landlords are for guests, who have left the premises.
Is the pub independent or part of a chain? If the latter, that could be one way to escalate.
Are you sure that the extended opening hours on Fridays and Saturdays are permanent or were these just for the duration of the World Cup?

The portals situation is bizarre - is that temporary?

I can’t imagine the council agreeing a pub can put portaloos for its customers outside the front of the pub like this.

And what is the set up of the pub that it hasn’t got enough existing toilet capacity for its customers / couldn’t put the portaloos eg in its own garden (assuming that’s how they have space for so many people?).

Beyond that, appreciate you recognise you bought opposite a pub and it changing hands was a risk - but is just report to the council.

We don’t go! Also we researched before we bought. It closed at 11 Sunday to Thursday and 11.30 Friday and Saturday. Previous owners didn’t allow people to stand out the front and scream at each other and made people leave on time. They didn’t allow people to use the street as a urinal or take glass out of the pub to chuck on the street. There were never any parking issues. There was occasional noise which we were fine with. This has all changed now.

Id contact the council licensing team as it was then that agreed to the change in their hours. They will be able to tell you their specific agreement as the pub will have certain activities they are or are not allowed to do as part of the agreement to open later. I would be surprised if they were allowed the portaloos too!

They will probably end up contacting the landlord if they get lots of complaints & if they dont improve then they will possibly terminate their late license.
Which will be completely there own fault as they should have a much handle on their customers, noise, moving them on etc as it is literally their job if they want to keep their licence.

I think op sounds entirely reasonable and I think she is right to complain about some of this antisocial behaviour.

Report the behaviour to the council and local policing team. It may be that if they can encourage the owners to disperse people quicker.

Anyone who buys near a pub expects a pub but screaming until 1.30am, pissing on your drive and smashed glass aren't 'a pub' they're grim antisocial behaviour.

OP's lived just fine opposite a pub for 10 years and has said she's not expecting silence.

I genuinely don’t believe that’s actually happening.

I'd hang on and see if it quietens down after the football.

But if the business is doing well, they should add more toilets, portaloos are not a permanent solution, especially if they're in front of the building.

You could ask the landlord to put a sign up asking people to be considerate when leaving so as to not disturb local residents. That might help if the clientelle are the considerate type rather than louts.

Of course OP has a right to complain about the pub not complying with licensing laws and about anti social behaviour- do you really think someone who buys a house near a pub should have to put up with the customers using their driveway and gardens as toilets?

I think you and some neighbours should go and talk to the landlord about it. Maybe wait until after the World Cup to see if it quietens down and make sure you’ve got your facts right. I’m very surprised they let anyone leave with glasses and don’t ask them to move on once they’re closed. DD works in a pub in a grotty part of central London and they are very careful about noise outside and stop using glass after a certain time.

If you're doubting the OP's OP then there's not much point you bothering with the thread is there?

Ypu can find their licence conditions on council portal. Yes, you bought by the pub, but that doesn't mean it's fair game for everyone and yoi cannot fo anything. They do have responsibility towards prople around. It's give and take situation when both compromise. If nothing changes, you can complain to council so the pub has to make better job from 1-having enough toilets, 2-not being too big nuisance and moving people on.

This happened to me. I bought my house prior to the smoking ban and when pubs shut at 11.00pm. The laws then changed...

Summers were he'll on earth with screaming and shouting to the early hours.
We got together with other neighbours and appealed to the licencing team at the council. Unfortunately the brewery were very powerful and we lost. Luckily the pub is failing now and only busy if England are playing.

What an odd thing to say. Have you never been to a busy pub before?

I would definitely report to the council and ask your neighbours to do the same. You could try speaking to the landlord first, but if they're tolerating this level of antisocial behaviour (and I don't see how they're not aware it's happening) it will probably take the council getting involved and them risking losing their license for them to take action. I live close to a few pubs and they all have signs asking people to be respectful of the neighbours when leaving and don't allow glass to be taken off the premises.

The glass may be mentioned in their licence too by the way. If yes, that's a massive failure

actually you can.

Get a group if neighbours together and complain to the licencing committee.

So it’s acceptable to have broken glass on the street just because it’s near a pub? Does that mean I can go to the chip shop and once I’m done throw my wrappers all over the floor?

Not sure if you were being deliberately obtuse here but that poster meant you 'go' (went) to the 'nuisance' because you moved to a road that had a pub on it. You moved near a nuisance and then expected it to not be one.
Not that you literally patronise the pub.

We have a camera on the front of our house so have recordings of it. I can prove it (to council or whoever, not to Mumsnet!) really easily if needed. I’ve been out for 10 mins this morning and counted 50+ discarded bottles and glasses and even pitchers. A lot of the glasses have the pub logo on (actual name of the pub not brewery) so pretty conclusive that they came from the pub. Again I’ve taken photos. You don’t have to believe me, you have no reason to. But the pub will have to believe me as I can easily prove it.