Owner of Talk Of The Town reaches out after noise complaints

Jimmy Andrews, owner of Talk of the Town, received a letter from Dudley Council after complaints were made about noise coming from the bar, which is a live music venue.

Jimmy said he wants to stay in the town and resolve any issues with neighbours and is just trying to keep the business afloat.

The High Street venue, which regularly hosts live bands, karaoke and quizzes, has been told an investigation into the allegations of noise nuisance will be carried out over the next two months.

Council officers could visit the bar, which opened last July, at any time of day or night to monitor noise.

Jimmy, a 35-year-old father-of-one, said: "We did annoy a few residents with the noise and there are a couple of complaints pending - but I just want to work with residents.

"We have a lot more to offer Halesowen.

"I just want to keep the peace - we're just trying to survive.

"My vision for the pub is that its for people aged 30 plus - we have weekend bingo, karaoke, charity nights - we have lots of B list celebrities coming down from Manchester to perform.

"I just want it to be a local hub. I want to do more charity events and positive things for the town."

Jimmy arranged a coffee morning for residents to attend, but said no-one turned up, although he said a few residents have reached out to him.

He said: "For me personally lockdown was very difficult - with being responsible for staff and having to put them on furlough.

"It's been going amazingly - after lockdown people were concerned about social distancing and it's taken time to get to this stage where people are getting over their anxiety.

"People just want to get back out there now.

"I'm very aware of mental health - some people are struggling - people who might have left partners over lockdown - all I care about is giving back to people."

Jimmy said he had signed up to the town's Pubwatch group to share information with other pubs.

The pub, which employs 12 staff, is run by general manager Andreas Edwards. It has a Facebook page.

Dudley Council has warned it that if there is further noise nuisance court action could be taken.