Our seafront is being ruined by bass music at beach bar – it sounds like Ibiza… but owner slams ‘pernicious’ campaign
LOUD music from a beachfront bar made from a double decker bus has allegedly infuriated locals who claim it is like “Ibiza”.
Sobo Beach opened in 2022 and claims to bring the ‘chilled vibes of Miami Beach’ to Southbourne in Bournemouth, Dorset.
The seafront cafe bar is made up of a mix of colourful shipping containers and an old double-decker which acts as a VIP lounge.
Its ‘Sunday Sessions’ have proved popular with twenty-something socialites partying along the beach.
Manager Rich Slater says he wants to extend his operating licence for three years and was stunned when his application was met with a raft of objections apparently from residents living in cliff-top flats above his business.
He says that a letter was hand-delivered to scores of households in the area urging people to oppose the licence.
Objections to the council on the proposed plan centre on the noise from the cafe’s music, which residents say puts them off sitting on their balconies.
One resident says the music was more in keeping with the party island of Ibiza than the chilled vibes of Miami.
She said: “St Catherine’s Road has been affected by the boom boom bass noise from Sobo Beach music events. On Christmas Eve, this was so strong that even indoors with windows closed, TV on, the thumping was going right through my body.
“It’s these events, more Ibiza than the chilled vibes of Miami, which are the problem.”
Another resident said: “It is impossible for me to sit on my balcony without the annoyance of the thump, thump of the music.”
Her neighbour added: “The loud bass…makes sitting out on my balcony very unpleasant with a constant drone.”
Another local said: “Being by the beach means you can listen to the waves, the sea, the wind the sounds of people enjoying themselves. Music is a very individual affair. (The) music is very intrusive and spoils my enjoyment of the beach.”
A couple, who live in a flat at Sail Point, said: “Our bedroom and lounge are on the beach facing side and the noise nuisance causes extremely distressing noise to both of us and our only recourse is to take refuge in the kitchen.
Mr Slater, 43, said the level of noise complaints against Sobo Beach have come out of the blue and he questioned whether they were all genuine.
He said: “Since we have been here we have had the odd complaint about noise but those people went through the proper process of either going to the local council or talking to us directly. We worked with them to try and reduce the noise.
“But what has happened now is that there is a pernicious campaign to try and rally people to object to our planning application.
“I have been contacted by people across a large residential area telling me that they have had a letter through their door from one resident of a block of flats telling them to object to our application.
“The details in the letter are not rooted in fact. The letter makes out we are some sort of mini Glastonbury on the beach.
“They talk about the future noise nuisance when we have measures in place to reduce the bass further.
“They say that our planning application includes a stage and that will make things worse but we already have a stage for our DJs and the reason it is mentioned is because we intend to add sound-proofing around it.
“There are properties on the cliff-top that have no issue with the noise whatsoever and there are some that are set further back that say they do.
Slater says: “Someone is trying to start a campaign to get people to object and that just doesn’t feel like great community spirit to me.”
One local resident who received the letter through her door said the alleged letter campaign will back-fire.
Liz Bates said: “The letter that came through the door only made me want to email my support of Sobo Beach.”
Customer Stuart Berry posted on social media: “Don’t these nimbies understand that for people to visit Southbourne and Bournemouth they need a great place to go and eat and socialise?”