THE owners of a Wirral restaurant have been fined more than £9,000 for disturbing residents with a noisy extractor fan.

625, based on Banks Road in West Kirby, received the £9,840 fine after breaching a noise abatement notice issued by Wirral Council.

Restaurant owners and father and son duo, Charlie Parsons and Stephen Carney, were served a notice in August 2022 after council officers deemed the noise coming from an extractor fan was a “statutory nuisance”.

David Kenneth Abraham, prosecuting on behalf of Wirral Borough Council, told the court that in August 2021, the council received complaints from a family living in the flat above the restaurant who described the noise as a being a “constant tonal hum”.

Noise monitoring devices were fitted in the flat during a visit from officers which established a “clearly audible noise” coming from the bedroom belonging to a 12-year-old girl, the living room, and the hallway of the property.

The complainants continued to report the noise and said the fan was left on through the night and was “persistent”. However, the defendants insisted the fan was new and ensured that it was not left running. They also said they “did not consider the noise to be excessive” and that anti-vibration had been installed.

In May 2022 issues were still not rectified and upon further visits, council officers reported that they could still hear the “hum” from the complainant’s flat. 30 recordings of the noise were taken by the council using a Trojan2 Noise Nuisance Recorder which were played to the court.

Mr Abraham said the residents living in the flat said the noise had been “significant to their wellbeing” in a victim impact statement.

Mr Parsons and Mr Carney, who were not represented in court, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with an abatement notice on three occasions.

Mr Carney told the court that the noise had “never been constant” and was only when the fan was on to which District Judge Wendy Lloyd replied, “well it’s a very regular occurrence”.

Mr Carney described the complaints from residents as being an “absolute nightmare” and said the pair were running their business “at a loss” with them taking in £1,000 each per month and having to borrow money from family members.

Judge Lloyd said: “It doesn’t seem to be a successful business and I don’t see you as the victim. What is the reality of you staying open? I can also see that you’re in £12,000 debt to utilities.”

Mr Carney replied: “It’s probably the toughest time to run a business at the moment. We’re fighting a daily battle. We can’t afford to live on it.”

Judge Lloyd asked: “Is it worth fighting? It’s a business, not a hobby.”

Sentencing, Judge Lloyd summarised: “The restaurant has never made a profit and is a dream but not a dream for the court. You have breached a noise abatement notice and it seems you are rather angry in your mitigation suggesting that the family should even move out and leave. You have no real empathy for the family.

“I appreciate you have no previous convictions and I believe you have been reckless rather than deliberate.”

Mr Parsons and Mr Carney were ordered to pay court fines of £9,840 over a two-year period.