Leith pub The Spey Lounge has license suspended over 'litany' of noise complaints

Spey Lounge on Leith Walk has had 'litany' of complaints

The Spey Lounge on Leith Walk was dealt the sanction by the licensing board on Monday after a series of noise complaints received since June last year.

Local councillor Chas Booth said he believes they ‘got off lightly’ and has urged owners to improve management at the bar.

It comes after the pub failed to comply with requirements to prevent public nuisance. It's understood that some noise complaints were about the bar’s karaoke machine.

Owners have also been found to breach their licence conditions by failing to prevent disorder.

A police report was also submitted in relation to a serious assault, a theft and one other incident at the premises.

Chas Booth, Green councillor for Leith and a member of the Edinburgh Licensing Board said:

“There were a litany of noise complaints about the Spey Lounge, along with a very serious report from Police Scotland. Frankly I think they got off lightly with only a two week licence suspension, but I hope they will use the time to improve staff training and focus on tightening up the management of the pub. There are many community pubs in Leith which are well-run and don’t create problems for neighbours or the Police, so if other pubs can do it, so can the Spey Lounge.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said : “We, along with our partners at City of Edinburgh Council Licensing Standards, submitted our findings to the Licensing Board for their consideration.”

Cllr Louise Young, Convenor of the Edinburgh Licensing Board said: “The licence was suspended for two weeks following a series of complaints regarding noise, concerns over

management of those complaints, and a submission from the Council’s Licensing Standards Officers and additional information from Police Scotland.”

Owners of the Spey Lounge Trust Inns Limited declined to comment.