Record store owner vows to fight council in court over noise enforcement

Rob Smith says it’s ‘guaranteed we’ll be going to court’ over the dispute. Photograph: Facundo Arrizabalaga/MyLondon

A used record shop owner in Hackney has vowed to fight the council’s noise enforcement in court following a dispute over disturbance from music-led events.

Rob Smith opened his second-hand store, Recycle Vinyl, off Dalston’s Kingsland High Street in late 2024. As the next few months saw a sharp drop-off in takings, he planned to host a series of day parties over the summer in a bid to attract more customers. But after the first dance event he hosted last June led to several noise complaints, Hackney Council blocked Smith from putting on subsequent events they had already granted him permission for.

Together with the Metropolitan Police, Hackney’s Environmental Health teams objected, citing the risk of a DJ-led sound system in the back yard sparking further complaints. Notably, Smith’s suggestion that he could use the yard space to host a ‘silent disco’ was also opposed by the Met.

The council also served Smith with a noise abatement order – an enforcement tool local authorities use when they believe a statutory nuisance exists. Failure to comply with such a notice is an offence which can be prosecuted in court. Non-compliance can result in fines of up to £40,000 for business premises, or seizure of equipment.

But Smith has challenged the basis of this order and asked the council to remove it. He claims the complaints are “mainly fake” and that his shop was the target of a co-ordinated campaign led by one individual neighbour, damaging his business in the process.

In July, Smith told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) he became convinced of this when a more sympathetic resident turned up to the shop and revealed WhatsApp messages sent by one individual to neighbours in a group chat, he alleged.

These messages, seen by the LDRS, appear to show the person encouraging others to complain about one of Smith planned events five days before it took place.

Smith shared this information with the council, which has refused to withdraw the notice. A spokesperson for Hackney Council said the order “was not served lightly” and that the local authority will defend any legal appeal against it.

“The whole scenario was […] nonsense and now it’s guaranteed we will be going to court for this”, Smith told the LDRS. “What is the point? It’s a lot of unnecessary work for everybody”.

“I’d dropped the whole idea of doing events and thought I’d focus on making money on record sales. But we’re paying rent on half a building, a space we have an alcohol licence for”, he added.

Appeals against noise abatement orders are heard in the magistrates’ court.

A Hackney Council spokesperson said: “Following a Recycle Vinyl event on 28 June 2025, we received noise complaints from 11 households. This is why officers from the council’s Environmental Protection service and the Met Police objected to a further event on 19 July 2025.

“We’re proud that Hackney is one of the best places to go out in London and we work closely with venues to provide training, advice and support. However the council has a duty to make sure new licensing applications recognise and mitigate their impact on neighbours”.