Noise complaint hell for the owners of PJ’s Social Club.

The owners of a Seaton social club are asking themselves ‘what’s next?’ - after receiving another noise complaint.

Pat and Julie Nield, who run PJ’s Social Club, have already received a noise abatement order following complaints about their Saturday night entertainment and have now received a notice from East Devon District Council about noise from their air conditioning.

The couple, who opened the social club last year, have spent thousands of pounds on measures to reduce sound leakage from the club.

This latest noise complaint could cost the couple even more money.

Pat said: “In November we received a letter from the district council saying our air conditioning was now causing a noise disturbance.

“It has been there ever since there’s been a cellar.”

He added: “We have to have the air conditioning as we would not be able to sell warm beer. What are we supposed to do?”

“We just think what are they going to complain about next?”

The club has already had to stop its live music entertainment as a result of previous noise complaints.

Pat said: “We have stopped the live music and it has killed off our Saturday night trade completely. We have lost customers through it.

“At the end of the day we have got to have customers spending money.

“We feel the council is being used to bully us.”

Pat says he may have to look into taking legal action against the council.

However, the social club’s customers have got behind the couple and launched a petition against the noise abatement order, which Pat hopes to present to Tiverton and Honiton MP Neil Parish.

The couple are urging people in the town to continue supporting the club.

A spokesman for East Devon District Council said: “Our Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are under a legal duty to investigate complaints about noise made by anyone living in the area.

“Only where those complaints prove to be justified do we then go on to take further action.

“Our EHOs always seek an amicable solution to problems where they can be found and spend a good proportion of their working lives advising and supporting businesses to find such solutions.

“Records will confirm that very few of the 1,000 of so noise complaints we receive each year end in formal action.”