Islignton Tribune - News: Nightclub in battle to keep licence

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Islington Tribune - by PETER GRUNER
Published: 27 April 2007

Nightclub in battle to keep licence

A POPULAR Tufnell Park pub and night club will fight to keep its license next week after angry residents – fed up with “binge Britain” antics – complained of unrelenting weekend noise and violent assaults outside their homes.
Managers at Tufnells in Tufnell Park Road will have to show it has eliminated the nuisance to neighbours when its license comes up for review at an Islington Licensing committee next Wednesday at 10am.
Licenses can be revoked if complaints are not resolved following a review under the same Licensing Act of 2003 that allows for 24 hour drinking.
The review is being lodged by Tufnell Park Residents’ Group who complain at having to wear earplugs at night because of noise at the weekend.
Incidents include a young man being kicked unconscious outside the club at 2.15 am in January this year following an argument inside. Also in January two men were “glassed” inside the club.
Residents Adam and Rebecca Longworth wrote: “At the weekend it is very hard to get a decent night’s sleep, even with earplugs. We are living in what can only be described as a scene from a ‘binge Britain’ reality TV show.”
Most weekends, they added, residents have to put up with loud music that goes on until 3 am, noise from people congregating outside the pub and often violent aggressive customers.
Other residents complained that customers are thrown out of the pub drunk at 3am and bouncers make no attempt to disperse crowds. “We have suffered months of broken nights, drunken disorder and violent assaults right outside our homes,” they write.
Other residents said: “The behaviour is intolerable and the management show total disregard for the welfare and civic rights of the local residents”
Islington’s Noise patrol team last month monitored noise from the pub going until 3am. “At one stage there were six people on the forecourt,” said a report. “ The car on the forecourt had its stereo on and the door open. No members of staff were present. We witnessed one man shouting to another ‘Yo, what you eating man,’ and someone else shouted ‘Gareth.’ There was a general babble with voices getting louder.”
The pub’s manager Mr Howard Mendoza has apologised for the disturbances and instructed staff including DJs to reduce noise and sound levels. “We are changing the whole ethos at Tufnells by which I mean we intend to end the Nite Club theme and promote the restaurant.
“We’ve done everything we can to improve the situation. We hope that there will be no more complaints.”

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