Camden News: Albert Street North Residents Association | Bertie Miller | Spread Eagle

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Camden News - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 13 November 2008

The Albert Street North Residents Association’s James Price, Peter Cundall, Tim Hayward and Tim Bruce-Dick outside the Spread Eagle in Parkway

Bar neighbours: We have to police pub ourselves

New legislation to relax opening hours branded a failure

LICENSING laws designed to revolutionise the nation’s drinking habits have been branded a failure by a residents’ group locked in a pub noise dispute.
Bertie Miller, chairman of the Albert Street North Residents Association in Camden Town, warned the 2003 Licensing Act had forced him to become an enemy of his local pub and its regulars.
He said the law meant he had spent “torturous” hours of his life preparing logbooks, attending meetings and familiarising himself with the minutiae of licensing legislation just to “live in peace” with the Spread Eagle pub in Parkway.
His association forced a council review of the pub’s licence on Thursday night after a series of complaints about late-night disturbances.
Mr Miller said: “I’ve got a business and a young family but you have to be seen to have exhausted all other avenues before you approach the council, so it’s been a couple of years of this. I’m not doing this for fun or to cause trouble – it’s been a pain in the arse.”
Mr Miller argued he was forced to personally take on the Spread Eagle after the change in law meant the “policing” of pubs was passed to residents. The only way to challenge the pub – after phone calls and desperate meetings with managers didn’t pay off – was through the drawn-out process of Town Hall review system, he explained.
Concessions were agreed at Thursday’s hearing which will mean drinkers must now go inside the pub after 10pm during the week and 10.30pm on weekends, while a doorman will be hired for Fridays and Saturdays during summer months.
Mr Miller, who spoke at the meeting, insisted it was the legislation – rather than the pub, the local police or the council – that was “flawed”.
The licensing act relaxed fixed opening hours on the grounds that residents would be able to challenge if pubs caused too much noise. Mr Miller said it just meant longer drinking hours rather than allowing neighbourhoods to “reclaim their town centres” as it was billed by ministers five years ago.
Journalist Tim Hayward, also a member of the association, said: “We’re not pooping any parties: we just want pubs to police themselves. We have to help managers by putting pressure on the pub’s owner to increase resources and provide doormen.”
Spread Eagle manager Jonathan Moran, who took over behind the bar in April, defended the pub and said he posted notes through people’s doors with his telephone number but got no response.
He added: “We want to work with the residents, we don’t want it to be a them and us situation. This is a community pub and we don’t want anyone to feel excluded.”

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