Bar hits back at neighbour complaining about noise

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A Clapham man claims to have suffered eight months of broken sleep due to noise from a neighbouring venue.

Thomas Pham, who moved into a flat next to the Mosquito Bar in Clapham High Street with his partner in March 2024, requested Lambeth council review the venue’s licence in September.

But at a council meeting called to consider Mr Pham’s application on Thursday, a solicitor representing the bar accused the neighbour of failing to take steps to resolve the problem with the venue’s manager before going to the authorities.

Solicitor Luke Elford, invited Mr Pham to the early hours venue just after it opens to talk about issues.

Mr Elford said: “We appreciate Mr Pham’s point about not wanting to come into the premises at 2am when it is full of customers to discuss matters. But why not come in at 10pm when we’ve just opened?

“At no point did this applicant approach us and say: ‘Hey there’s a problem. Can you help me fix it?”

Mr Elford said that cutting the bar’s hours would be like closing the venue due its reliance on after-hours customers, including hospitality workers going out after they have finished work.

He added that the team behind the bar were happy to buy a new limiter and set it in coordination with council noise staff to reduce the volume of music.

But, James Rankin, representing Mr Pham at the hearing, said a limiter wasn’t a ‘magic bullet’ to the noise problem.

He said: “Because they’ve got a 7am licence the world and his dog leaving every other club descend on these premises for that ‘last drink’ and they stay and they behave badly.”

A council licensing committee made up of Cllr David Robson, Cllr Olga Fitzroy and Cllr Diogo Costa deferred making a decision on the licence review application for five days. 

They have the choice of changing the bar’s conditions of opening, revoking its permission to operate, suspending its licence or doing nothing. Their final decision will be published on the council’s website.

Pictured top: Mosquito Bar in Clapham (Picture: Google Street View)