Phoenix bar on Brisbane Street has been fined more than $2500 due to noise complaints to police in the early hours of last Thursday, but the owner claims he is being unfairly targeted.
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Police mailed the fine to Jimmy Hoyle last week for failing to comply with a reasonable request from an authorised officer under the Liquor Licensing Act, with the offence specified at 1.15am on April 29.
Mr Hoyle claimed that police and Liquor and Gaming were being "too onerous" in their monitoring of his venue, and that when he applied to extend his liquor license in 2019, the only residents identified in his audio report to council were south on George Street.
"I don't play beyond 1.30am out the back in that direction and cut everything off at 2.15am, get everyone out by 2.30am," he said.
"My music isn't too loud. I abide by the rules and by the timeframes I'm given. I feel like I'm being set up to fail."
On the night in question, Mr Hoyle said police visited the premises due to a noise complaint, but he claimed he complied and turned it down when "threatened with a fine".
"But they never said I was actually getting a fine," he said.
Phoenix - which is located near the Princess Theatre - is licensed to sell liquor until 2.30am seven nights a week. The licence also notes that music volume must be decreased or ceased at the request of an officer under the Act, or a police officer.
Mr Hoyle contacted various government ministers complaining of an "invalid complaint" about noise, and the behaviour of officers, but has not received a reply.
Inspector Darren Hopkins said police would not respond to "specific allegations", but that carrying out compliance checks was normal.
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"From time to time, some licensees fail to comply with the requirements of their liquor permit and they are breached by way of an infringement notice," he said.
"We are not commenting on particular venues in relation to noise complaints other than to say several complaints have been received over the past two months of noise from that venue."
One nearby resident said noise had become an issue since Phoenix went from primarily being a restaurant, to being a late-night venue.
"We have young families and the nearby bars such as Alchemy, Lonnie Niteclub, Royal Oak and The Barrel Collective have never caused this level of noise. We expect some noise living in the city but this is like having a muffled stereo on in every room constantly," the resident said.