A horror experience may close after councillors refused to extend its opening hours on learning residents had been disturbed by loud screams.
The Chester Dungeon in Watergate Street opened less than a month ago despite businessman Ed Walley’s concerns over enforced 10pm closures on Fridays and Saturdays and 8pm the rest of the week.
Mr Walley this week asked for Cheshire West and Chester Council’s planning committee to extend the opening hours until midnight all week round but this was unanimously refused.
He responded: “I’m going to close it now. There will be no dungeon in Chester.”
Visiting city centre councillor Samatha Dixon had argued in favour of retaining the existing hours or even reducing them “to protect residents from the fall-out produced by panicky, excitable people who have had a few drinks and been scared witless in a dark and confusing environment”.
She told the meeting ‘half a dozen’ residents had written to her about a disturbance on Friday January 9 about 5pm.
The letter read: “The amplified noises of screaming etc were almost deafening, scaring, in other shops, children and customers alike. One woman was about to call the police believing somebody was being attacked.”
Cllr Dixon also received a phone message from the owner of the Watergate Gallery, who described being ‘disturbed by screaming’ and ‘noticed a family in the street, which included a toddler, who was crying due to the fright experience’.
The councillor took issue with officers who had recommended the hours be approved and cited no objections. She understood eight people had complained to environmental protection about the noise.
And she said residents had lodged objections against an appeal by Mr Walley against the original opening hours. She accused Mr Walley of attempting to ‘circumvent the appeal system’ by bringing the matter back to the planning committee.
“People in Watergate Street are not passive about this, they are angry,” said Cllr Dixon, who claimed unauthorised work had also been carried out at the listed premises leading the council’s planning enforcement team to issue a stop notice.
Mr Walley had earlier told the committee feedback from customers about the £4 experience was ‘tremendous’ but he was struggling because of the opening hours.
“We’ve found to our frustration there have been days in the last month when not a single person came through the door. Chester is notoriously dead from 5.30pm til 8.30pm, we all know that. The pubs are empty and the shops are empty.”
Committee member Cllr Alex Black dubbed the dungeon ‘tasteless’ and members rejected increased opening hours on grounds the noise and disturbance would have an unacceptable impact on quality of life.
