An East London bar popular with metalheads has been given a reprieve by the local council after being threatened with closure due to noise complaints.
Blondies Brewery in Leyton — an offshoot of the Clapton-based Blondies Bar — will need to reduce the volume of its gigs after a “small number” of locals complained about its loud music.
But the alternative venue will be allowed to stay open despite being challenged by its neighbours over monthly live shows, which they said were “unacceptably” noisy.
Co-founders Sharmaine and Verity Cox, who opened the brewery in 2023, said they took complaints “very seriously”.
The Australian siblings offer special tickets for locals and give their neighbours advance notice of performances.
They also launched a Crowdfunder campaign last week to raise £100,000 for soundproofing and site improvements to avoid future grievances.
The Cox sisters need to raise at least £20,000 in April to deal with other urgent costs, such as loss of earnings due to cancelling events.
At the time of writing, Blondies Brewery have raised more than £10,500 in donations.
At a Waltham Forest Council licensing hearing on Thursday, residents from nearby Bevan Court said vibrations from bass and drums would “rattle their tables and window sills”.
This building is not fit for live or loud music
Whilst locals agreed Blondies Brewery is a “pillar of the community”, they said they had “endured enough”.
Ursula Casserly, who applied for a review of the venue’s special events notices, said: “This building is not fit for live or loud music. It never was.”
Others said it was harming their quality of life as they “could not relax” on a Friday night.
Councillors ordered Blondies Brewery to install a limiter and display contact details of licence holder for anyone wishing to complain about noise.
However, the limits will not be permanent and Blondies Brewery can request future reviews once its insulation work has been completed.
Blondies Brewery said they were happy with the limiter being installed and they supported a “constructive” outcome that worked for all parties.
Labour councillor Richard Sweden said the authority “did not want to close down a socially beneficial business”.
Deputy London mayor Howard Dawber, who supported Blondies in the hearing, acknowledged concerns from disgruntled residents, but said he had “utmost confidence” the bar would make necessary changes.
The Cox sisters previously warned that stripping of their licence to host concerts could lead to the closures of their Leyton and Hackney venues.
Sophie Asquith, venue support team manager at the Music Venue Trust, told The Times: “(These) venues are the incubators of the entire industry. As soon as you take them out of the chain, it impacts the entire music industry.”
The original Blondies Bar opened in 2015 and has played host to several bands, such as Grammy-winning outfit Mastodon and Australian metalcore group Parkway Drive.
It was described by rock magazine Kerrang! as “London’s best dive bar”.
Blondies Brewery followed in 2023, offering coffee during the day, and punk and thrash music in the evening.
Venues across the capital have struggled to make ends meet in recent years, with dozens being forced to close following noise complaints.
According to The Londoner, more than 120 pubs, bars or clubs found themselves before a council licensing committee last year, 28 of which related to license disputes.
