Students at Lincoln College have expressed their anger at the extension of the Turl Bar’s lease. Second year students, many of whom live above the bar, have made a number of complaints about the “unreasonable” levels of noise and disruption at antisocial times.
This includes loud music and crashing bottles late in the evening. Particular concern has been raised for those who are working towards their second year finals at the end of Trinity.
“I have had a significant number of complaints from students,” said Kevin Smith, Lincoln JCR President. “These disturbances impact quality of life as well as academic performance.”
Many of the rooms in the college-owned ‘Mitre’ block of accommodation are situated nearby or even directly above the bar on Turl Street and above The Mitre pub.
The Turl Bar was expected to close on 1st February, when its lease was set to expire. However, the lease has been extended for another three months to allow essential redevelopment of the neighbouring restaurant, The Mitre, which is owned by the same company.
Students have commented that the loud music that reverberates into their rooms and the crowds outside the pubs late in the evening make working in the evening difficult.
Residents are also often kept awake by the sound of bar staff disposing of bottles in the glass bins below their rooms as late as 1am and then further sound of glass breaking at 6am.
“Sometimes, when I’m trying to sleep, they tip the bottles into the bin beneath my window, giving me five seconds of what sounds like a pneumatic drill in a china shop,” said Steven Legg, a second year Lincoln Physicist who lives in the Mitre accommodation.
Smith added, “Our problem isn’t the Turl Bar, but rather, that the Turl Bar makes noise at unreasonable hours.
“Their practices have not met the stipulations communicated by the Bursar to students.”
The Bursar of Lincoln College wrote Mitre residents a letter saying that he would remind the pubs that no bottles were to be emptied between 11pm and 7am. Despite this, the antisocial noise is alleged to have continued.
Andy Cowan, Turl Bar Manager, denies that the bar should be held responsible for disturbance to students. “There’s been nothing excessive,” he insisted. “It’s a matter for the College if students are unhappy.”
A more recent JCR motion noted that, “There has been an ongoing campaign to reduce the noise produced by the Turl Bar… a petition to the JCR President was signed by a majority of Mitre residents.”
Students have demanded that pressure is put on the bar to comply by the rules set out by the College.
The Turl Bar rents its building from Lincoln College. The College announced this autumn that it plans to begin converting the space into a new quad when the bar’s lease expires.
When contacted, Lincoln’s bursar, said, “I have nothing to add, please leave me alone”.
