There would appear to be some problems in getting the link to this article to work - so here it is in full.

Published on Tuesday 13 September 2011 08:00

OVER 40 noise complaints were made over the past five years against Alibi and its predecessor, Kozi Bar, Warwick District Council has revealed.

In July Alibi bar and restaurant closed down after the owners claimed they had been hounded out by Warwick District Council Environmental Health.

The trio of Rosa Chillari, Stefano De Palma and Barry Keen were furious, with Mr Keen calling Environmental Health the "do-gooders of dinosaur town".

But on Tuesday the district council licensing panel met following recommendations by Environmental Health officers to change the premises' licence.

Senior Environmental Health officer Peter Lawson said: "The premises is in the centre of the town and has a history of noise nuisance in the form of loud music and noise escaping from the premises and people talking, drinking and smoking on the pavement.

"Abatement notices have been repeatedly breached and criminal investigations are ongoing.

"No actions have been taken to close the premises despite their claims to the contrary. They said they had another event on July 17 which was hard to reconcile with the statement that they'd been put out of business by us.

"We have received no response from them. The premises is not suitable for this kind of regulated entertainment.

"We feel that if the premises was properly run with the conditions we suggest it would be perfectly suitable."

Mr Lawson talked the panel through all noise complaints and abatement order breaches since 2006, but did point to the period between November 2007 and January 2010 where there were no complaints as live music was not being held at the venue.

But from that point on complaints were much more frequent, particularly from residents of The Wool Pack, and Mr Lawson said that on occasion Environmental Health officers witnessed music that could be heard as far away as Shire Hall and all the way down Swann Street.

The panel voted to approve the recommendations that live music be removed from the licence, the premises be closed by midnight, and that there be no admission or readmission after 11pm due to the "substantial amount of evidence of noise concerns."

Rosa Chillari, one of the co-owners of Alibi, said they had no further plans for the premises but may look elsewhere.

She added: "When we could no longer do what we needed to do we left. I'm not surprised about the new licence conditions because that's what they want to do with the town centre. There will be no live music at all in the town centre now."