Torbay Council halts live music at Paignton bar after noise complaints

Torbay Council has pulled the plug on live music at a popular Paignton bar – for the time being.

A five-hour meeting of the bay’s licensing sub-committee ended with disappointment for the owner of Molly’s on Paignton harbourside.

After hearing how people living nearby had to change their daily routines or leave their homes altogether because the music coming from the bar was so loud, the committee ordered owner Lee Tyrrell to stop the music.

However, chair Cllr Mark Spacagna (Con, Cockington with Chelston), said the door was still open for him to apply for a variation of his licence alongside a noise management plan.

“Without a noise management plan in place, the board had to make the decision it did,” said Cllr Spacagna.

After the hearing Mr Tyrrell said he was ‘shocked and disappointed’. But, he added: “It’s not the end. We will be working with a sound engineer and looking to vary the licence.”

Supporters said the venue was a hub for the harbour community where thousands of pounds was raised for charity, but the council said it was currently not suitable for live and recorded music.”

“Should the rights of one commercial entity override a person’s enjoyment of their own home?” asked council officer Tom West

Solicitor John Dunkley, on behalf of Molly’s, said the cafe/bar drew tourists and locals to the harbour, and contributed to the economy and cultural life of Paignton.

“Paignton is a tourist area and this is a working harbour,” he said. “This is not a village on Exmoor, it’s a thriving cultural part of Paignton where you would expect music venues to operate.”

A report said live music was staged up to three or four nights a week, starting at 6pm or 6.30 pm and lasting for three to four hours. There had been four noise complaints from people living nearby.

Mr Tyrrell said live music never went on more than five minutes past 9pm, and his customers agreed. One said having music played earlier in the evening suited an older clientele. “My staff are all at home and in bed by 9.30pm,” said Mr Tyrrell. “The acts are only paid until 9pm, and they certainly don’t hang around.”

But Chris Roberts, whose flat is on the opposite side of the harbour, disputed Mr Tyrrell’s statements about timings and noise, and said Molly’s had ‘delusions of grandeur’.

“It’s a cafe,” he said. “It is not suitable, and it never has been suitable, for live music.”

He said his floor vibrated because of the noise.

“The only way to sort this out is to revoke the licence once and for all,” he added.

David Quint, who lives across the road from Molly’s, said he could not open his windows or sit on his balcony when music was playing. He often had to leave his house to get some peace, he said. 

“We were here when Molly’s was a little hut selling bacon baps and coffee,” he added. “If the owner wants a nightclub-type venue he needs to buy a proper building, because at the moment he’s got a tent.”

Local musician Philip Bowden, who manages music acts at the venue, said it was ‘unique’. He said if the council set levels for the music, the venue would work to those levels,

“Molly’s brings people in,” he said. “It has become a local community hub with an average age of 55-plus. We have raised more than £20,000 for local charities.

“We are a community, we are good people and we’ll put things right straight away. To lose that venue in Paignton would be a blow for tourism.

“Just give me the tools so I can go to work. Tell me the levels suitable for residents and we will abide by them.”