Bar owners hit back at petty neighbours after venue is bombarded with hundreds of complaints

• Popular bar bombarded with complaints
• Owners hit back at petty residents
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The owners of a popular bar say they have been pushed to breaking point by hundreds of petty complaints from neighbours.

David Bartl, Jacob Bettio and Lachlan Taylor opened Holmes Hall in 2020, a licensed 300-seat venue on a once derelict supermarket site next to the bustling Moonee Ponds train station in Melbourne 's inner north-west.

'For the past four years, we've been relentlessly targeted by a small group of nearby residents,' the owners said in a post on Instagram .

'We're talking hundreds of complaints, 30-plus Freedom of Information requests, multiple Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal appeals, and attempts to revoke our planning permit entirely.

'We're a local venue doing everything right. And we're exhausted.'

The trio said they were 'done staying quiet' about the growing 'lawfare' trend impacting small venues across Melbourne.

'Good operators are being dragged through endless red tape and legal attacks by individuals trying to shut them down, not because they've done something wrong, but because they simply exist,' they said.

Mr Bartl said despite the harassment the owners are intent on staying put, at least for the length of the 12-year lease they took on the property.

Most of the complaints stemmed from two neighbouring households that had consistently refused to participate in any form of mediation.

One household had used video surveillance equipment to monitor the venue and file their complaints.

'We're constantly on edge because we're always having to defend ourselves against the pettiest complaints you've ever heard of,' Mr Bartl said.

'It has been really obsessive behaviour over the last five years.'

Among the complaints made to Moonee Valley City Council were deliveries not being conducted in prescribed loading zones and waste collections on public holidays.

Neighbours also complained patrons used an incorrect door as an exit, alcohol was being consumed outside permitted areas, and the music was too loud.

Other claims included illegal parking and signs for weekly events, such as drag bingo and tipsy trivia, being stuck on walls in contravention of the bar's heritage planning permit.

Mr Bartl said one of the most bizarre complaints was that they had used the wrong shade of green on the exterior of the heritage-listed building.

'The heritage green paint we used was a shade or two different from what it was supposed to be so we had to repaint it,' he said.

'It's not an amenity issue for the neighbours complaining, they just don't want us here.'

In 2022, the venue was the subject of VCAT action seeking to revoke its planning permit.

The tribunal dismissed the application, arguing it lacked substance and was misconceived.

The owners said the petty complaints were not just a psychological drain on owners and staff, but also had a financial impact on the business as they spent countless hours defending their operations.

'It's caused us to be constantly on edge and paranoid waiting for the next time we have to defend ourselves,' Mr Bartl said.

In an open letter to Victorian Assistant Treasurer Danny Pearson the owners said across the state, especially in inner-city and mixed-use zones, hospitality venues were increasingly vulnerable to individuals weaponising public processes with serial complaints, FOI misuse and planning objections.

Mr Bartl said the complaints were made without meaningful checks or consequences and placing an unfair burden on businesses.

He said there was an urgent need for reform to manage 'vexatious' serial complainants to ensure small venues were protected, not punished by the systems designed to regulate them.

'Victoria Police are investigating it as a case of harassment and stalking,' he said.

A Moonee Valley City Council spokesman declined to comment about the complaints raised by Holmes Hall.

'As these relate to regulatory and enforcement functions, Moonee Valley City Council will not be making further public comment,' he said.

Daily Mail Australia contacted Pearson for comment.

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