Hackney Council have denied a record shop permission to host a silent disco because of potential noise complaints from neighbours.
Per The Standard, Dalston record store Recycle Vinyl was told by councillors last week (July 15) that it would not be able to host an event after a “misunderstanding” of licensing rules led to the Town Hall receiving several noise complaints.
Two parties were held there recently at the venue’s so-called ‘Rave Yard’, where crowds gathered in a backyard space formerly used by Kingsland Nursery, which closed in 2023. According to the record shop, the space has so far been used to highlight the dwindling number of electronic music venues.
While the owners had sought permission from the council to have DJs, the Met Police said they had not communicated this properly in the application. “As a result, neighbours thought an unlicensed music event was taking place – it was that loud,” an officer told The Standard.
Following these events, they sought the council’s permission to host ‘Vinyl Bitch’, a daytime dance music party for up to 150 people from 12pm until 9pm last Saturday (July 19).
Both the Met and council teams objected, due to the risk of more noise complaints from a DJ-led sound system in the backyard. To abate these concerns, owners offered to make the event a silent disco where guests would be given headphones to listen to music while still making use of the outdoor space.
However, the council said it could only rule on the initial request, which it refused the next day.
“We were doomed from the start,” Recycle Vinyl shared on Instagram. “A local resident who we’ve renamed final boss Karen sent a message to a what’s app group the Monday before we opened asking them to complain as soon as our first party started…. And they did.”
They went on to say that police have also issued closure notices on further outdoor parties. “We tried to reach an agreement with the police and Hackney Council on Silent Disco headphones for the outside with the DJs playing in our indoor space and were told to apply for more temporary event notices, only to have this also denied.
“As far as we are concerned, no official procedures have been followed correctly and all off the back of the local Karen.”
They said future Rave Yard booking will go ahead until the end of the month, but will be indoors, inside of Recycle Vinyl. “In August we have made the sad decision to cancel all our day parties other than the final date with Victor Simonelli,” they added.
“It is sad how one persons unhappiness can try and spoil it for many people.”
London’s MOTH Club became similarly embroiled in a battle with Hackney Council, after owners took to social media last September to call on local residents and fans to reach out to the borough’s planning department to contest a proposal for a new block of flats.
They were later hit with two separate planning applications for flats on Morning Road, next to the venue, which were submitted to Hackney Council.
At the time of writing, the petition to oppose the planning applications has received more than 20,000 signatures, with owners urging people in posts shared earlier this month to “keep the pressure on, sign and share the petition and write to the council”. Visit here to find out more and to sign the petition.
After a series of high-profile cases, music venues subject to noise complaints are set to get “greater protection” under new government plans.
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