Save the Fleece!

littlethoughts

The fleece is a lovely venue in Bristol that brings in pretty big crowds for local acts and touring bands alike. We've played there a few times and always been treated well. They are currently in a bit of difficulty though - the office blocks nearby are being converted into flats by property developers (planning permission for which did not consider the fact that there was a very loud music venue next door) and the venue will likely be forced to cut sound levels during prime gigging hours. After the closure of the Croft it would be a real shame to lose another top venue in Bristol, so please sign this petition:

https://www.change.org/petitions/bristol-city-council-save-the-fleece-from-closure
read about it here:

http://www.bristol247.com/2014/05/27/bristol-mp-and-mayor-back-campaign-to-save-the-fleece-46325/

holnrew

I never actually saw anybody there when I was in the South West, but I'll sign it.

ROOG

Signed, this has been a great venue for ages, I've lived in Bristol most of my life and I used to work just down the road allowing me to wander in of an evening on a regular basis. It would be bad news if the use is heavily restricted.  

ROOG

holnrew said:

I never actually saw anybody there when I was in the South West, but I'll sign it.

LOL, @holnrew, must have missed me then! 

skay

Is this the pub that was bought by The Blue Aeroplanes? If so, i've heard a lot about this place, and have signed the petition as the Blue Aeroplanes are one of my favourite bands! 

I've never had a chance to see their popular annual christmas gigs there, and if this happens then it looks like I may never will.... :-(

Deijavoo

Never been, dont need to. Signed. 

What an utterly abominable act of bullying, a representative act in colonisation. 

koneguitarist

Been there a few times, saw Nickel Creek play an absolute blinding performance there before they split. Also saw Texan Terry Allen there, what an artist. Great venue. Signed already !

Phil_aka_Pip

The MU is also supporting The Fleece

Karlos

Exactly the same is threatening the famous 'Night & Day Cafe' in Manchester.

It's an institution and a mecca for small bands and club nights.

I'll post links to their petition when I get home.

chillidoggy

Done. If it's a music venue, it should be kept open.

littlethoughts

Thanks guys. I'm never sure if these petitions make much of a difference but given the precedent set elsewhere I think we need a change in legislation to protect existing businesses (gig venues or otherwise) from rampant property development. 

A friend of mine used to live in a similar conversion and it was the absolute worst in terms of cost cutting, with incredibly poor execution and high rent. It's not an effort to solve the housing crisis but simply a grab to make a quick buck with the minimum amount of effort without considering that it's horrible for the tenants and insensitive to the surroundings.  I appreciate the need for more housing but the location is actually dreadful in terms of amenities and there are similar unoccupied office blocks elsewhere in the city that could be converted (if that is what they want to do!), which are much closer to supermarkets, schools etc and not next to a gig venue.

Karlos

Here's the petition regarding the 'Noise Abatement Legislation'. This is the legislation that will kill live music in some towns.

This will no doubt affect a venue near you soon. It's gonna be misused by people to crow-bar councils into closing or making it impossible for venues to operate.

http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65582

Do petitions work..? Who knows.

What have you got to lose signing it..? Nothing.

RobDavies

Always happy to sign stuff like this.

We have some great small venues in Southampton with The Joiners being one of them.  That particular place always seems to be under threat....

joneve

Saw J-Mo perform there a number of years back, so more than happy to sign this.

thumpingrug

signed

ICBM

There definitely should be a principle of precedence established in law for these issues.

ie you can't move into anywhere near an existing venue and then make a noise complaint, if the venue was there first.

(Unless the noise level has provably been increased.)

Karlos

ICBM said:

There definitely should be a principle of precedence established in law for these issues.

ie you can't move into anywhere near an existing venue and then make a noise complaint, if the venue was there first.

(Unless the noise level has provably been increased.)

This is exactly the issue facing 'Night & Day' and other venues in Manchester. Oldham St was a run down road as was the rest of the Northern Quarter. It's always been part of the music scene in Manc but now with all the old warehouses been turned into expensive flats it has become residential.

Part of the success of NQ, thriving bars, cafes, shops is down to the residents but the clowns that are trying to have Night & Day shut down moved into a flat above a venue... what part of moving above a venue makes you think you will get a peaceful life 24/7..?

They 'claim' that the sound level has increased to an unacceptable level but I know the guy that books bands there and the soundsystem has not been changed. 

Residents that moved into NQ and city centre Manchester because it was cool are now ripping the heart of it.

The big problem is that probably all venues break the law on sound levels at some point. It's very hard to put a band on in an old building and there be no leakage of sound. A venue I worked at spent millions (yes millions) trying to rid themselves of the issue due to an Environmental Health Order been slapped on them.

It's very very easy to get a council to come down heavy on a venue due to noise complaints. The law seems to fall on the complainants side very quickly. I was involved in an EHO where the council measured the volume of a venue due to trumped up complaints that led to the venue having to move the whole stage and sound system to another part of the venue to appease the landlord of the pub next door.

One of the trumped up complaints was that the bass was so heavy one night that the residents could not sleep...and on that night the club had no bands on and they held a 'Silent Disco' for students...the venue was quieter that usual that night. I shit you not. The council believed the complainant and the EHO was served.

ICBM

KarlosSantos said:

One of the trumped up complaints was that the bass was so heavy one night that the residents could not sleep...and on that night the club had no bands on and they held a 'Silent Disco' for students... I shit you not. The council believed the complainant and the EHO was served.

You'd probably find the Silent Disco was leaking into the complainants' hearing aid circuitry .

Karlos

^^^ Hah excellent. She was probably getting terrible Top 40 music on all frequencies.

...it turned out that the landlady was leaving her bedroom windows open so she could smoke, and so she could hear the music. The fact that it was a largely empty hotel above a pub and she was smoking in a hotel room didn't seen to bother the council officer, who I might add can often be found propping up the bar in the complainants pub.

Stinks I tell ya...stinks.

Evilmags

Yet another story of live music venue closed or impaired because of council jobsworths and arsepain neighbours. The spiralling costs  of  running a live venue is seriously damaging to live music and instrument based music in general. If the culture department of government had a little bit of nous it would realise that making live music cheap to put on and not swamping owners with regulations and other such shite costs a lot less than subsidising a few orchestras and other arts projects that have a very elitist audience (if any). Part of the advantages of living in a city centre is all the culture you have a your doorstep, and if you want to have that then you have to accept a bit of noise.   

ICBM

That's exactly why precedence needs to be established in law, so you can't 'work the system'.

A long time ago a pub I knew which put music on (lightly amplified acoustic too, not loud rock bands) had to stop because some wankers bought the flat above - got it cheap because it was over the pub - then complained about the noise and forced the pub to stop the music, which completely killed the business… pub eventually closed, flat value went up dramatically - I suspect that was the plan all along. That is just wrong.

I've also lived above a pub, so I do know what it's like. The only time I ever had a problem with it was when the cleaners used to come in on a Sunday morning and put the jukebox on - a friendly word to the manager fixed that.