A Felixstowe restaurant had its licence reviewed yesterday after a neighbour called for a ban on music and smoking on the terrace.

This followed complaints by Alba Chiara's neighbour regarding loud music and second-hand smoke.

Sonia Jackson, the restaurant's neighbour said: "The noise is very audible. It is going on all day, when there are no customers, when there is rain or storms outside."

In her opening argument, Ms Jackson told the council about the impact the music and the smoke have had on her and her husband's health. 

"Our idyllic home is no longer our happy place," she said.

She also said she had expected there would be ambient noise when she moved into her home in 2018, the year before Alba Chiara opened, but had not considered outdoor music and smoking.

Stefan Mania, the licence holder, said: "I'm really sorry about what the neighbours are going through.

"There's not much we can do about it unless you want to limit the activity of the restaurant.

"It is an area which attracts people and tourists, it's alive and we don't have control over them."

Although the restaurant's licence permits music to be loud, the Licensing Act 2003 doesn't allow for it to cause an unreasonable disturbance to the neighbours.

Nevertheless, following a visit by the environment protection team, it was determined that the restaurant was only playing "low-level" background music.

With this in mind, the council's licensing sub-committee decided to change Alba Chiara's right to play music until 11 pm to 10 pm instead.

Despite Ms Jackson's calls to also turn the terrace into a non-smoking area, no measures were taken in that regard.