Residents Victory Over Troublesome Troxy

Emdad Rahman

The residents of the Pitsea Estate and Bromley Street are ecstatic after winning an epic battle with the management of the Troxy. As reported last week, an application to the council’s licensing sub-committee was made. Led by the Pitsea Tenant’s & Resident’s Association Secretary, Elaine King, the residents appeal was successful after a heated three hour hearing.

Nargis Nessa, a resident of the Pitsea estate for over 25 years, presented evidence, and told the committee that rowdy crowds attracted by Troxy events made the lives of local residents miserable. Nessa reminisced how peaceful the neighbourhood was when the venue was previously a Bingo hall.

Residents also testified that visitors were parking illegally due to lax parking enforcement and the noise pollution caused by traffic congestion kept residents awake at night. Haphazard management of the visitor queue also meant residents had to walk on the road, as the pavement was totally occupied by visitors to the Troxy. Miss King also recalled how she was abused by a member of the Troxy security team after she confronted them about their style of queue management.

Furthermore, allegations were made that visitors frequently urinated on walls and
littered the surrounding estates with no due care for the locals.

Objecting to the licence variation request of the applicants, the Troxy management team and their licensing consultant attempted to discredit anonymous evidence submitted by Miss King to the sub-committee. The operations director of the venue also accused residents of hurling marbles, stones and eggs at visitors. However, their trivial attitude towards incidents involving the police at the venue was met with criticism from the senior Councillors sitting on the committee.

Mr Sharma, the Managing Director of the holding company that owns the Troxy, admitted that there were many problems and that the venue’s management team were adequately addressing them, with the involvement of residents. He further admitted that for a period of time, residents were not informed in advance of big events that were to be hosted at the venue, in breach of the late hours licence granted to his company in 2007.

After twenty minutes of deliberation, the licensing sub-committee delivered a verdict to roaring applause from the thirty or so residents present at the hearing.
The Troxy management were ordered that events running from Monday to Thursday had to cease by 11pm and events held during the weekend had to cease by 2am. This variation of the Troxy’s late hours licence means that it will now be closing earlier than it currently does on event nights.

Mr Sharma was also told that a litter clean up was to be organised by his management team on the surrounding estates after big events. Signage was also to be put up around the venue to remind visitors that the venue is in the vicinity of a residential area, so that visitors were more considerate in their behaviour. Venue hirers are also to be explicitly told that there are no parking facilities around the venue.

Speaking after the hearing, prominent local activists Mahbub Mamun Alam, Abul Hussain and Shahar Ali Imran expressed their delight at the licensing sub-committee's decision.

They commented that their aim is not to see the Troxy close down as it was “a marvellous venue,” however, the public nuisance and anti-social elements attracted by events such as cage fighting had to come to an end.

The trio have confirmed that their next targets include enterprises exacerbating anti-social behaviour in their neighbourhood.