Neighbour's complaints could end live music at the venue

The popular Thursday night jazz evenings at the City Barge, Strand on the Green, Chiswick have had to stop until further notice because of complaints by a local resident.

Jazz has been played at the City Barge for the past four years and there have been no complaints until recently. Eric Gilchrist, the saxophonist who organises the evenings said, "It's very sad after so long. The management at the pub have gone out of their way to address the issue by setting up the music in different areas away from the neighbour's wall, but it seems this is to no avail . What disturbs me more than anything is that no one from Hounslow Council appears to have monitored the sound levels. The musicians usually consist of just saxophone accompanied by piano or guitar. The microphone and amplification is simply there for announcements and vocals."

Eric Gilchrist went on to say that there are precious few live music venues in Chiswick and that the City Barge jazz evenings attracted jazz fans from far and wide. As well as featuring some of London¹s top jazz musicians, the jazz evenings also offered an opportunity for up and coming musicians and singers to play and sing live with professional musicians.

A Council spokesperson said, "As a result of ongoing complaints, and despite correspondence with the owners and managers to resolve the matter informally, the Pollution Control Team has now served an Abatement Notice against The City Barge Public House due to noise nuisance from the playing of amplified music and amplified speech."

The pub is currently reviewing the situation, as they fear fines and withdrawal of the manager's licence if there is another complaint. Pubs in Barnes and Acton have already been forced to stop playing live music after complaints from residents of new developments nearby. The City Barge have organised a petition to try and save the jazz nights at their pub.

May 13, 2005