Many people have already contacted Travelodge via their various websites and addresses. The reply is invariably a very polite brush-off. I'm not slagging off Travelodge, I've used them myself in extremis. The problem as I see it is that they seem to think they can turn up in the town and immediately start dictating how things should be run to suit their own purposes. They could have avoided this problem with proper research in advance of the build and taking measures to soundproof the building in reponse to that research. I suspect it was a financial decision not to soundproof the rooms properly; we know they could have done it, as they do in airport hotels all over the world. That makes me think that there wasa planning decision somewhere that said 'skimp on the soundproofing, we can always pressurise the council into shutting down the pub'. Incidentally, that's what this means; if the Jug loses the music fans, there is no ready-made clientele to replace them. Newcastle town centre isn't a busy place as a rule, and pubs are closing regularly. The Jug would follow this depressing trend, and another outlet for cultural events would be lost. This is by no means the average 'rock pub' venue; the range of events held there is very wide, and includes acoustic music, open mike nights, trad jazz, blues, bluegrass, cajun and yes, even folk music from time to time.
Tim from the Slippery Hill Boys