The owner of a large wedding venue with a “disco barn” near Reading has been fined nearly £16,000 after twice breaching a noise notice.
Penelope Holley, 71, was served the notice of termination in July 2018 after repeated weekends late into the evening “music, shouting and singing” from The Copse was heard in Mill Lane, Kidmore End.
As part of the investigation, officers from South Oxfordshire Borough Council installed noise monitoring equipment and visited the properties of several neighbors to witness the noise and collect evidence.
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The council said Holley tried to reduce The Copse’s noise by installing directional speakers in the “disco barn”, hiring additional staff, putting in place a noise management plan and using a soundproof marquee.
However, after further complaints from neighbors, the council’s environmental officers witnessed violations of the 2019 reduction notice on September 14 and 21.
The council stated that there was legal harassment in both cases, which led to a violation of the reduction notice.
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Holley was found guilty by a judge of breaching the Noise Abatement Notice after a three-day trial at Oxford Magistrates’ Court in August 2021.
On November 26, she was convicted in the same court, where she was ordered to pay a fine of £400 for each offence, plus an £80 victim’s premium. The Council has been awarded partial costs of £15,000 to be repaid within three months.
Councilor Sue Cooper, Cabinet Member for the Environment at South Oxfordshire Borough Council, said: “The disruption and stress caused by excessive noise from neighbors should not be underestimated. If this continues, it can seriously affect people’s quality of life.
“The council wants the communities to thrive together and will work to mitigate noise issues that people have with neighbours. However, if the notices are breached, we have no choice but to prosecute.”
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