Bar allowed to play music until 11pm despite neighbours complaints

A Streatham bar has been allowed to play music until 11pm despite a neighbour complaining she couldn’t hear her TV due to noise from the venue.

Opposition from residents who live in flats above Hybrid Bar and Restaurant in Streatham High Street wasn’t enough to stop Lambeth council from giving it permission to open late seven days a week at a meeting on Tuesday.

The bar, which has room for 69 people, will be allowed to serve booze to customers until 11pm and open until 11:30pm on weekends under the new licence.

Raya, a resident who lives above the venue, told the meeting: “I feel really worried about how much this is going to disrupt my day to day life. My partner and I are planning a family in our flat.

“I can’t imagine having a child in that flat with regular evening disturbances. It would be damaging to them psychologically.”

Explaining one recent occasion when music from the bar was too loud, she said: “I had a friend around for some pizza and we were watching television but we couldn’t hear the television because we could hear the music.

“We may as well have been in a bar. I had to put subtitles on the television to finish what we were watching.”

Four residents voiced concerns about excessive noise from the bar at the licensing meeting. The council received a further 17 objections from members of the public in writing before the meeting. The venue’s previous licence expired in October 2024 after the company that held it was dissolved.

Councillors David Robson, Sarina da Silva and Adrian Garden granted the new licence with conditions, including the requirement for the bar’s noise limiter to be inspected by council staff before the licence comes into place.

Carlos Harris, owner of Hybrid Bar and Restaurant, said he had only received one complaint from residents since fitting a noise limiter.

He added: “I’ve done everything in my power to reduce the noise. I’m more than happy to work with the neighbours to do what we can to reduce noise inside and outside the venue.”

Pictured top: Hybrid Bar and Restaurant is located on Streatham High Street in Streatham, South London (Picture: Google Street View)