Businesses closed in noise crackdown

A POPULAR nightclub is one of half-a-dozen establishments closed down in Nerja for being too noisy. The town council has fined Jimmy’s disco €12,500 for exceeding the permitted noise levels.

It will not be able to open again until it has sorted out its sound insulation. Businesses in Tutti-Frutti Square, as it is known locally, have come under fire from the council for noise violations as it does not want a repeat of the ‘Ipanema’ case in Velez-Malaga in which the council had to pay residents €5 million in compensation for not having acted sooner on noise infringements. 

A judge ruled that the council should have acted sooner to address complaints about noise, and ordered it to pay the compensation.

Half-a-dozen venues, located in or around the square, have had to close temporarily in order to correct their installations and reduce the amount of noise which, inevitably, leaks out from the premises. 

Jimmy’s, Nerja’s most popular night-spot, on Calle Antonio Millan, has been closed since April 26 when the council detected that the noise levels, as measured by local experts, were above the maximum allowed by the 6/2012 law. 

As a result, the council ordered them to close immediately, opened a file on them and fined the owners. According to Manuel Martinez, spokesperson for the establishment, the problems arose when they changed the air conditioning installations, also at the behest of the council, and discovered that they were 11 decibels over the limit.

They have been told that they cannot open again until all the installations pass the council’s inspections. Martinez commented that this could not have come at a worse time as the tourist season is approaching and they will be unable to take advantage of the extra summer trade.

He went on to say: “Nerja is a tourist town and in summer  the population triples. Jimmy’s has been here for more than 30 years, offering entertainment to residents and tourists alike.”

Nerja’s Councillor for Commerce Nieves Atencia confirmed that the club would have to remain closed until the premises came up to legal standards.