An Afro-fusion restaurant in Leyton has been ordered to install a sound limiter after residents complained about noise. Joscy Mezu, operator of Mez Lounge in Lea Bridge Road, was served an abatement notice in April after Waltham Forest Council found the venue was causing a nuisance by playing music “at an unreasonable level”. The restaurant has been closed ever since, but Mezu is now looking to install sound-proofing, an expensive process which he hopes to have finished within three months.
Licensing hearing conditions
At a licensing hearing held this week, Mezu agreed with councillors it “would help” if a noise limiter – a device that caps speakers’ volumes at a certain level – was installed and if customers were forbidden from entering the garden past 10pm. The limiter will be installed and sealed by council officers, and only they will be able to adjust it. Under the new licence, the venue will be open from 11am everyday, closing at 11.30pm on weekdays and 12.30am on Friday and Saturday nights. Alcohol sales will end at 11pm and midnight, respectively.
Previous noise limiter issues
Mezu told the committee that a previously installed noise limiter had not been functioning properly, and had been tampered with by DJs who “weren’t getting the sound they want” but that he had taken steps to ensure it “would not happen again”. Additionally, he had met with neighbours who he said approved of the work he was carrying out and noted they had not objected to the licence application.
Council opposition and family business defence
An officer from the council’s licensing team unsuccessfully pushed for no licence to be granted until the sound-proofing works had been completed. She said the venue was “not fit for purpose” as an events space and that music would need to be capped at 50dB to prevent disruption. A representative speaking on behalf of Mezu said the council should take into consideration it was a “family business” and that he was working to mitigate the issue.
First licensing meeting under new administration
The committee – now made up of a Labour councillor, a Conservative councillor, and a Green councillor as chair – approved the scheme today Thursday (9th) at the first licensing meeting under the new Green administration.
