From 6 April venues in the UK will be protected by the new rules
The last few years have seen a spate of music venue closures and close-calls, but thanks to new government legislation local planning authorities will now have to take into consideration the noise impacts on residential properties in close proximity to music venues before beginning development.
The Music Venue Trust issued a statement on the matter saying, “Permitted development rights have been extended and allow certain developments to take place without the need to go through the full planning system.” This means that future developers will have to assess the possibility of noise complaints when developing residential buildings. The upshot, the Trust says is that “you can’t change offices to flats any more if a music venue is nearby. Developers will need to work with the local authority and the music venue to ensure that live music is protected.”
The Trust seem more than happy with the development with spokesman Mark Davyd saying that “This common sense move by the government provides an opportunity for local authorities to use their powers to ensure that live music continues to play a vital economic, cultural and social role in our towns and cities. For music venues, this has never been about stopping development or preventing the creation of much needed new housing; it’s always been about ensuring that new development recognises the culture, economy and vibrancy of city centres by building great housing, enabling existing music venues and new residents to live in harmony. This is a major victory for the UK’s music venues and music fans. The fight to protect, secure and improve them goes on.”
The new law will come into effect on 6 April this year. Here’s to hoping it’s a sign of more good things to come.