Mechu Club forced to reduce opening hours after neighbour complaint
Another Birmingham nightspot has been forced to curb its opening hours after becoming the victim of a noisy neighbour complaint.
City council licensing bosses decided to ban the Mechu Club on Summer Row from opening until 3am after one person said it was keeping her awake.
But the licensing committee chairman says there needs to be a major review of the city rules.
Dr Nageena Hussain, who lives on the seventh floor of Islington Gates, used legislation to demand a review of the Meechu’s licence. A licensing committee decided the club should close at 2am and told the Meechu’s owners to introduce a taxi marshalling scheme for customers leaving the premises in order to keep the noise down.
It is the latest in a growing number of incidents involving conflict between occupants of city centre’s fast-growing apartments scene and clubs and pubs.
The issue is a major problem, particularly in Digbeth, where established nightclubs and pubs which play loud music late at night have come under pressure to turn down the noise as residents move into new apartment blocks.
Last month, the Rainbow pub in Digbeth hit the headlines after receiving a noise abatement order from the Environmental Health Department. The Mechu incident led licensing chairman Nigel Dawkins to demand a change of tack from the council.
He is urging the planning department to draw up a rigid policy to separate flats and apartments from nightclubs.
