Ascot Vale bar fears for long-term future after complaints barrage
Neighbours of a popular venue have been firing in complaints over issues such as personal trainers working out, the presence of dog groomers and drag queen bingo. But its owner says it’s all a campaign to get the “pretty tame” bar shut down.
North West
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A popular venue in Ascot Vale claims it is the target of a complaints campaign with the aim of shutting it down.
The Ascot Lot, off Mount Alexander Rd, has caught the attention of several disgruntled neighbours ever since it opened two years ago, according to its owner Jacob Bettio.
Mr Bettio said complaints had been made about personal trainers conducting workouts on the premises, the existence of a weekly drag queen bingo event, dog groomers being present and the smell of the food trucks.
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He said people had even accused him of living on the site.
“It was so funny, it was ridiculous, the council had to come down and inspect us to make sure we weren’t living there,” Mr Bettio said.
Neighbours had also complained about noise levels, carparking, dogs inside the venue, where the food trucks are located, food trucks trading during weekdays and the responsible service of alcohol.
“It’s very frustrating,” Mr Bettio said.
“We’re a pretty tame venue. It’s not like we’re a nightclub. It just becomes very hard.”
Moonee Valley Mayor Samantha Byrne confirmed they had received various complaints about the venue over concerns such as music levels, trading hours, allocated parking not being made available to patrons, exceeding patron numbers, and alcohol being consumed outside of designated areas.
Cr Byrne said the council would not close a venue based on a complaint.
“We will investigate the complaint and if permit conditions are being breached we can issue a Planning Infringement Notice,” she said.
Mr Bettio said the other complaints were made to him in person by a council officer. But the council could not confirm by deadline if they had them on record
However, The Leader has seen correspondence about a complaint regarding personal trainer sessions at the premises.
The Ascot Lot has been issued planning infringement notices for breaching its planning permit for excessive noise causing amenity disturbance and parking not being available to patrons.
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Mr Bettio said due to complaints, the venue had a permit that only allowed them to trade until 10pm and limited their patron capacity.
The venue has installed sound insulation and sound regulating systems to try to resolve some of the complaints, he said.
“It doesn’t matter what we do with this kind of group of people, we’ve spent thousands trying to appease their demands but their complaints keep evolving,” Mr Bettio said.
He said he was worried for the long-term future of the venue.
“I don’t want to see us go and turn into another apartment block,” Mr Bettio said.