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£1,000 fine for parties at De Niro film house
Neighbours complain of noise from conference centre
THE owner of a £10-million Grade I-listed building seen in a Robert De Niro film has been fined £1,000 for hosting noisy parties.
Timothy Murphy, who owns Mary Ward House, a conference and exhibition centre in Tavistock Place, Bloomsbury, was absent when Highbury Corner magistrates imposed the fine following residents’ complaints about outdoor parties and sleepless nights.
But Mr Murphy’s wife Margaret says she is furious about the prosecution, claiming the couple were not informed of the Camden Council-led case, which was heard on Thursday.
Mrs Murphy, who only learned of the court case from the New Journal, said she had received complaints but believed they had already been dealt with through her lawyer.
She added: “I’m absolutely furious about this bloody nonsense. We’ve had no notice of this hearing whatsoever.”
The five-storey Arts and Crafts building is seen in the movie The Good Shepherd, starring Angelina Jolie and Robert De Niro, which is released this month, and is often used as a backdrop for fashion shoots.
Mrs Murphy said: “When I contacted the council they didn’t engage in a debate. They just told me to get a solicitor. I’ve paid £7,000 for a solicitor. I can’t understand how they can come back and start again from scratch.
“All they are doing is haranguing and hassling us. We have very few events here. The police have never been called.”
As landlord and licensee, her husband was accused of breaching the Environmental Protection Act twice by failing to curb noise nuisance and was also ordered to pay Camden Council £1,282 in costs.
Prosecuting, Arnoud Van Den Bout said: “The council began to receive complaints from the beginning of 2004 relating to amplified music and social events coming from Mary Ward House.”
He said residents complained about outdoor parties featuring calypso and brass bands in June last year.” On one occasion “there was a constant clunking of bottles being disposed of in bins and crates and a general loud hubbub of noise through people talking loudly, laughing loudly and shouting”.
At another party, he said: “There was an outdoor brass band playing music and about 50-60 people consuming alcohol. The music was very loud and intrusive.”
He said one resident, who had taken a letter of complaint round to the house, was told the business would go bust if it did not make money.
He said the council had some contact with Mr Murphy’s solicitor but that the matters had not been fully resolved. |
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