Beloved Hackney Record Store BBE Faces Licence Review After Noise Complaints from New Neighbours

The BBE Store in London Fields, east London, is fighting to keep its licence after Hackney Council received a formal application for a licence review. The venue was founded in 2016 as a free-to-enter record shop and events space by BBE — Barely Breaking Even — a Black music record label established in 1996. The trouble began after a new residential building went up across the road on what the store describes as a largely commercial, industrial street. Over the past year, several businesses on the street, including the BBE Store, have faced a steady stream of noise complaints from the new residents. In response, the store installed noise limiters and acoustic curtains, among other measures, and cut its evening opening to three nights a week, dropping Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. Despite those efforts, the complaints kept coming, and the venue has now received a Notice of Application to review its licence. BBE launched a fundraising campaign with a £20,000 target to cover legal fees and planning consultants, and a petition in support of the store has gathered more than 11,000 signatures. Hackney Council stressed it had not moved to close the venue itself, but confirmed it is obliged to review a licence whenever a formal application raising concerns about a venue's operation is submitted.