http://www.kyeo.tv/2010/09/20/outrage-as-live-music-threatened-in-newcastle/

John King comments:
The 'rights' of one person to move next to an existing business and have it closed down on the grounds of noise distubance are now enshrined in law.

llogical laws and new housing developments could put an end to live music and band rehearsals in the thriving cultural heart of Newcastle.

Two major new housing developments received planning permission at Newcastle City Council's Planning Committee last Friday. One is for a development of 42 flats in blocks on the former Stephen Easten site in Foundry Lane, Ouseburn. The second site is immediately adjacent and is a development of 10 residential and five commercial units by Brackenshaw Ltd, the former Kelly Plant site.

The applications had been objected to strongly by businesses in Ouseburn, which see residential development in the central Ouseburn valley as a threat to the noise-producing businesses in that part of the valley, which include the Cluny, Ship and Cumberland Arms pubs, and the rehearsal rooms in the Off Quay Building on Foundry Lane, just yards from the developments, and in the Garage in Hannington Street to the north, to name but some.