The empty office building at 16 Mortimer Street. Photo: Fitzrovia News.
An unlicensed venue in Fitzrovia where loud music could be heard from 3am to midday has been shut down by Westminster Council and the Metropolitan Police.
Two residents, who live around the corner, said they heard loud music from the abandoned office block at 16 Mortimer Street, near the corner of Nassau Street, at least three times.
“At first, I didn’t know what it was I was hearing. I thought it was a new club that opened but when residents told me what had been happening, I put two and two together,” said one of the residents.
They said they could hear a heavy thud and a distinctive drum and bass sound whenever an event kicked off, which they said was always on a weekend.
“It’s weird hours. It starts at 3am and so I’m already asleep. It’s when you wake up [in the morning] that you realise it’s going on. It’s disorientating.”
Residents on nearby Nassau Street said those living in top-floor flats experienced the most sound disturbance, while others said they barely noticed it. Some said the busy nature of Mortimer Street means they’ve learnt to block out most of the noise.
Westminster Council and the Met Police said they became aware of issues with what they described as “squatters” in the vacant commercial property following complaints from residents about “illegal raves”, which they said sometimes lasted over 14 hours and featured music so loud “nearby walls shook”.
According to the council, the premises’ landlord sought a court order to evict the squatters but a delay in it being issued meant the police and the council had to intervene because of ongoing reports of “thumping music, crowds of partygoers under the influence of drugs and alcohol” spilling out into the street and antisocial behaviour such as “littering and public urination”.
The Met Police issued a Closure Notice, which prohibited access to the property for 48 hours, while Westminster Council served a Section 80 notice, allowing officers to seize sound equipment. The authorities were able to access the property with the landlord and moved on three squatters and secured the premises. A 24/7 security team now remain on site.
Closure Order notice at 16 Mortimer Street. Photo: Fitzrovia News.
On 22 February, the court issued a Closure Order, which legally prohibits access to the premises for everyone bar those specified in the order for a three-month period. The move couldn’t have come earlier for one unnamed resident.
“Only when the ‘venue’ was closed and life returned to normal, I fully realised the impact it had on our lives, and how nice it is to be able to have uninterrupted sleep on weekends and be able to rest after a work week.
“No loud music all night and well into the morning, no noise, no rubbish left by people attending the raves. It feels safe now,” they said.
Another resident said: “Since the closure order was granted, everything else simply just improved. A home should be your place of peace, not a place where it becomes a prison.”
Deputy council leader and cabinet member for public protection, Aicha Less, said: “These illegal raves have caused huge disruption for these residents, turning their lives upside down. I am grateful for the council’s hard work alongside the police to make sure this is resolved as soon as possible, and this sort of antisocial behaviour will not be returning.
“If people see this sort of selfish and disrespectful behaviour happening, they should report it to the police as soon as possible or use the council’s report it service,” she said.
The council said that after a spike of unauthorised music events during the first lockdown of 2020, events like this are on the decline.
The premises was recently the subject of a planning application granted by Westminster Council to partly demolish and redevelop the site.
https://fitzrovianews.com/2024/03/27/council-and-police-shut-unlicensed-music-venue-in-mortimer-street-after-noise-complaints/
#MetropolitanPolice #MortimerStreet #noiseNuisance #WestminsterCityCouncil
Joseph Lim 
A.Stringer
Editors
Bob Jamieson