A bar has undergone a licence review after several complaints from local businesses
An over-21s bar has won a licence row after neighbours complained boozy bottomless brunches had turned their town centre into the “Wild West”. Lang’s Bar & Cocktail Lounge in Sittingbourne underwent a licence review last week after several complaints from local businesses about anti-social behaviour (ASB).
Building owners Dacorum Capital called for the review in September, noting worries over fire safety and the “irresponsible bottomless cocktails”. Businesses demanded the bar shut at 11pm rather than 2am – at a hearing last Monday (November 24) – raising worries about noise, public urination, litter, vandalism and fights.
However, the owners insist that they go “above and beyond” to make their venue safe, and that there has never been a link to ASB. Vanguard, which runs The Forum Shopping Centre, showed their support for the shortened hours, also calling for stricter door control to stop the streets becoming the “Wild West”.
They wrote in supporting documents: “There are repeated incidents of anti-social behaviour directly linked to patrons of Langs Bar, particularly in the late evening and early morning hours. These include fights, public drunkenness, vandalism and shouting in the street.
“These behaviours are disruptive to the surrounding businesses and damaging to the town centre’s atmosphere. At night, the situation resembles what can only be described as the ‘Wild West’ with disorder spilling into the public realm unchecked.”
A Travelodge opposite the venue, which is around 21 metres away, say that they have even received several negative reviews due to noise from customers, who described it as a “rave”. A representative wrote: “I am writing to confirm that the ongoing noise levels, late-night disturbances, and antisocial behaviour associated with Langs Bar have had a significant negative impact on our hotel guests, particularly during weekends.
“This has resulted in a steady stream of unhappy guests to our reception team, and it has directly affected our guest experience scores. More concerningly, this disruption is now being reflected in our public review platforms such as Google and TripAdvisor, where multiple guests have referenced the excessive noise and anti-social behaviour linked to Langs Bar.”
Some examples of 0/10 reviews relating to the bar include: “A massive rave with thundering music until after 3am. Despite having the window closed we could still hear the music loud and clear.
“Also backed onto a car park full of screaming drunk people and cars doing doughnuts. Barely slept.”
Another added: “Worst hotel I have ever stayed in, it was loud and could not sleep until 3am due to the nightclub next door.” The hotel chain called for the bar to stop serving alcohol at 10pm, and for all customers to be off the premises by 11pm so that their guests can have a “good night’s sleep”.
Loungers UK also submitted their concerns, stating that the bar sends ASB their way with vandalism and criminal damage to their outside furniture. They wrote: “These issues have been persistent and have had a significant negative impact on Sentado Lounge and neighbouring businesses.”
Despite the complaints, the bar owners received a letter on Friday stating that the licence committee will be taking no further action and they can continue business as usual. They state that this is a huge victory, and stress that they run their business very sensibly, with police finding no link between the bar and ASB.
Manager Piers Butler, 30, said: “It has been a stressful few weeks, but we have a great legal team behind us and they have been really helpful. Our venue is well known in town for no trouble and for being a more sophisticated venue.
“We are over 21s so we don’t get any youngsters and the older crowd can really enjoy it. We have won this battle and we are on the right path.
“All the comments we received have been so positive, people don’t want to lose this venue.” Director Leon Dawson, 34, also says that they use responsible alcohol measurements for their brunches, ban drinking games, and always thoroughly search customers at the door.
He added: “This feels like a fantastic victory. We have been here a while and we have always put customer and staff safety at the forefront.
“We are one of the least troubled venues in the town. I know that we uphold and go beyond the necessary standards to ensure that we are a safe venue and are abiding by the restrictions in our licence.
“This was just a ploy to cause me grief.”
