CHANGING times in the heart of Petersfield have brought about changing problems – which have been highlighted this week by residents who say they are starved of sleep. With the opening of new residential flats earlier this year in The Square, a new challenge has been set for residents and commercial properties to live in harmony. New residents have found out that living in the centre of such a busy town has its disadvantages, namely noise late at night after pub closing time. With no nightclub in the town, since the closure of Vertigo earlier this year, drinkers spill out onto The Square late at night. The Square is a busy place, with shops, a twice- weekly market, and numerous cafes and pubs on all sides, and the new King William's Gate flats are right in the heart of it. The 14 flats have been lived in since June, but already new residents say they have suffered as a result of noise. Sheila Fisher, 73, said she gets no sleep at weekends because of people shouting in The Square and waiting to be served at the resident kebab van. Mrs Fisher said: "I have been here since June and it is a nightmare. The biggest problem is the kebab van. It's a magnet for all coming out of the pubs at night. If it wasn't there, they would possibly go home. There can be 40 people out there making a good deal of noise at 2am. "Then the market starts up at 5.30am on Saturday. At weekends, I am lucky if I can get two hours sleep. The only time I can get any sleep is if I go away for the weekend." She added: "I don't mind people having a good time, but they could be more considerate. Hopefully, the government will go back on the 24- hour drinking laws." While pubs have yet to satisfy neighbours in their quest for a good night's sleep, residents have had some response from market traders, who set up with heavy iron poles, which can be noisy. Mrs Fisher said: "Market traders were told there were now residents by the market and they all responded. That's one bit of achievement and we do appreciate it." New residents acknowledged that moving into the centre of the town could provide potential noise problems, but they felt acceptable limits had been stretched. Another new King William's Gate resident, a 32- year-old man who didn't wish to be named, said: "I have lived above a pub in the past, so I went into it with my eyes wide open. I have done research and know what living in The Square means. But this is unreasonable. "I don't think it's fair that I have to sleep with ear plugs in and the double glazing shut every night. "No matter what people say, if the kebab van was not there people would not hang around and freeze, they would go home. It's the focal point for loud, drunk youths after pubs close. "Situations are dynamic and the situation is that people have been allowed to live in The Square and new changes have to come to accommodate them. The council brought about that change by allowing planning permission." The annoyed man added: "I drink in the pubs myself, but there are times to be reasonable and maybe landlords need to take responsibility. There needs to be some consideration for residents to get some sleep in their own property. We just want pubs to be considerate to neighbours. "I am a reasonable guy and have reasonable expectations. All I expect is if I go to bed at 11pm, I want to get a reasonable night's sleep." The kebab van, which has a licence from 6pm to midnight, was located directly outside the new flats, but due to complaints recently moved away from the residential area to outside the front of the church. Kebab van owner Algas Babur said: "I have been here 17 years. If you live in The Square you should know how many pubs there are around here. Why do they rent a house here? They should rent a house in a quiet street." Ann Pinhey has lived in The Square since 1986 and said noise was part of life in the town centre. She said: "I have lived here 21 years. I have a super flat, it is central and it suits me. But if you live in The Square it can have its disadvantages, for example, a lack of parking and the noise. "The only thing I would complain about is Foggy's. For the last six weeks noise has been a problem. Some nights I can't get to sleep. They certainly do not always stop at 1am. At weekends now I am so tired that I can't get to sleep. "Outside the church is a better place for the kebab van. I have got used to that. You have just got to put up with it." Some youngsters have said that since Vertigo nightclub closed in May there has been nowhere to go in Petersfield after the pubs close. This may be one of the reasons some people feel the town centre has become noisier in the last few months. Letters from two King William's Gate residents were due to be discussed last night by Petersfield Town Council's finance and general purposes committee. Before the meeting chairman, Vaughan Clarke said: "The town council is not the licensing authority, so we do not have any control of what goes on in The Square at all. "We can see the residents' point of view and there might be some kind of compensation position by moving the kebab vehicle. However, it has been there for a number of years and I am surprised the developers didn't inform residents before they moved in." He added that historically The Square had always been busy and residential properties had always surrounded it. The pubs had been there since the 1600s, it was the market centre and, up until a few years ago, had been in use as a car park. Mr Clarke said: "Over the centuries The Square has changed a great deal, and it has been noisier in the past than it is at present."
