London’s Manbar regains entertainment licence following noise complaint

A bar in London’s Soho has regained its entertainment licence, after it lost an appeal at a noise complaint hearing.

Manbar, which describes itself as “the iconic independent gay bar”, said before the appeal hearing that it could be forced to close, as it geared up for a legal challenge following a licencing review, after one resident living above the premises complained about noise.

Having lost its entertainment licence, the bar was only able to play background music, as it could no longer host DJs, but owner Chris Amos has said he is happy that the bar has been granted a new licence by Westminster City Council.

Manbar owner Chris Amos said: “I would like to thank all those who have supported Manbar. I am so thrilled for Manbar, for our amazing team and most of all, for the gay community and entertainers. We work very hard at Manbar to provide entertainment every day of the week, so there is always something to do late night in Soho. I am grateful to Westminster City Council for allowing us this opportunity to demonstrate Manbar can provide good quality entertainment and keep peace with our neighbours.”

He said regular DJs and entertainers would return to the bar following a reduction in revenue and staff levels.

The bar had appealed after the council banned it from playing music until improvements were made, and continued to trade pending the case.

• Nov 29 2023

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