The residents of Albany Road are so fed up with a noisy sports bar that within 24 hours a petition to close it down garnered 100 signatures.
The buildings directly on top and next door to the tavern are residential homes so members of the ward 10 community have petitioned to close down The Sports Bar situated on Albany Road.
The residents of Albany Road are so fed up with a noisy sports bar that within 24 hours a petition to close it down garnered 100 signatures.
The buildings directly on top and next door to the tavern are residential homes so members of the ward 10 community have petitioned to close down The Sports Bar situated on Albany Road.
"We complain about the tavern every weekend," said Allen Williams, a resident who lives just above the bar and organised the petition.
Residents complain that drug users and gangsters are drawn to the tavern and cause trouble. "Every weekend there are fights, people urinating right in front of our houses, noise which persists until all hours of the morning, and there are a lot of under-age drinkers," he said.
Glynn Moody, a resident living next door to the tavern explains that on a weekend he has to get up 12 to 14 times a night to get rid of people loitering outside his window.
"I’ve seen things like girls getting beat up just outside my window," he said. A resident living next door to the tavern was raped two weeks ago on a Saturday night.
The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said it was around 10pm when she fell asleep on her couch and was later woken by a man standing over her wearing a mask.
“He took off my pants and raped me," she said. She has since received necessary treatment and counselling and opened a rape case.
"I stayed in my house for three years before the tavern opened and something like this never happened before," she said. "I’m scared to be in my house but I can’t afford to move anywhere else."
The manager of The Sports Bar, who wishes to remain anonymous, says it is all a matter of jealousy. The bar has been open for longer than a year and a half now and he has not heard any complaints.
"I have been to all the meetings about The Sports Bar and if there was such a big problem I’m sure more people would attend these meetings," he said.
“Rather than letting people out on to the street where they can be tempted to do bad things I am providing a facility where people can come entertain themselves.
I have called the police to sort out problems outside the tavern and their response has been poor. When the police arrive they are more concerned with the tavern’s liquor license. What happens outside the bar is not my responsibility.”
However, Williams explains that he doesn’t understand why the liquor license was passed in the first place, as it is surrounded by schools and churches.
According to the municipal Prevention of Public Nuisances By-Law, no person may use any premises in such a manner that it interferes with the convenience or comfort of other people or that it becomes a source of danger to any person.
Just across the road a tavern called Roxy’s Tavern was closed down two years ago because of the very same problems experienced by the community.
Captain Gerrit Swart explained how areas in Grahamstown have been re-zoned due to expansion. Number 29 Albany Road, where The Sports Bar is located, was previously occupied by a shop and therefore has been re-zoned to a business area.
As the bar is considered a business they are permitted to operate from this location. He continued to explain that it is the ward councillor’s duty to investigate the community’s feelings through holding open forums where community members can voice their opinions.
Last Tuesday night a ward meeting was held in the Recreational Hall where residents from ward 10 gathered to discuss the disturbances created by The Sports Bar.
Councillor Lena May, who had been held up at a ward committee meeting arrived half an hour late, during which time the residents and the bar owner had already left.
May said the meeting could not proceed without both parties being present and therefore needed to be postponed. However, the residents were not happy that the meeting had been postponed.
According to the Liquor Trading Hours By-Laws; the ward committee must hold a meeting with the members of the community to "discuss and solicit the views" regarding the application to the Liquor Board for a liqour license.
"The ward committee did submit a report to the council and the Liquor Board as well as signed documents by the churches, schools and residents," said May.
However, the documents were lost at her house when a tornado struck but she said they will be produced at the next official ward meeting.
On the other hand, the headmaster of St Mary’s Primary School in Albany Road said they never gave their consent and supported the petition to close the bar.
"The bar would never have gotten its license if the community did not agree," said Ali Ebrahim, a ward committee councillor.
"The community must understand that as councillors we do not permit someone to open a tavern, we just acknowledge that they have applied," said May.
The tavern followed all legal procedures and liquor inspections to obtain its license. “Before the call for objection a woman stood up in another meeting asking why it was taking so long for the Sports Bar to obtain its liquor license," said May.
"Some of the issues raised about this tavern could be personal so as council members we have to hold a meeting to establish what the real issues are and in order to do this we need to hold a meeting where all the parties are present," said Ebrahim.
In the mean time the residents have gone forward with their petition and will be presenting the matter to the police and the municipality. "Why should we become the dumping site of these kinds of social ills?" Williams concluded.
