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Cllr Lucy Watt (second from left) with residents at the licensing committee meeting on Monday |
The pub that’s on probation
Garden music banned as reopened Tavern is told: Be a good neighbour
BACK in the 1880s they had to enact a “No sex on premises” law to discourage amorous couples from romping undisturbed in Canonbury Tavern’s many fields.
Today, rather than heaving bodies it’s the raucous laughter, loud conversations and clinking glasses in the pub garden which can disturb neighbours.
The popular pub, which boasts one of the largest beer gardens in north London, reopened this week amidst cheers from its regulars and apprehension from residents living nearby.
The pub in leafy Canonbury Place was granted permission to remain open until midnight at a packed licensing committee meeting at Islington Town Hall on Monday. But, as a result of concerns voiced by residents, there will be no music allowed in the beer garden, which will be closed by 10pm.
The committee, chaired by Lib Dem councillor Laura Willoughby, said that, while she understood the pub must be commercially viable, it had also to be a “good neighbour” – and drinkers should respect residents’ right to peace and quiet.
The committee heard that, with the beer garden being able to accommodate more than 300 drinkers, there had been problems with noise and nuisance under a previous management, particularly during summer months.
Four years ago local resident Lord Simon of Highbury, an advisor to the then Prime Minister Tony Blair, was one of a number of residents who failed in a bid to have the pub’s late-night opening hours cut.
About two years ago, the pub closed, but recently new management took over, spending £1.2million on major refurbishments.
The new manager has met residents and offered to be available by mobile phone night or day if they have a problem.
Lib Dem councillor Lucy Watt, who represented many of the residents, said she was pleased by the outcome of the hearing. “We’ve managed to stop music being played in the garden, which would have been a big nuisance to people who live around the perimeter,” she added.
“The pub will have to close the garden and remove all the furniture by 10pm. It’s a reasonable compromise.”
Rubbish will be collected from the pub at times that do not disturb locals and management has agreed to hold regular meetings with residents. Cllr Watt said: “The pub has been told it’s on probation. It must prove it can be a good neighbour.”
Local resident Angus Fear, who has lived in Canonbury for 19 years, supported the ban on music in the garden but was glad the pub will be able to stay open until midnight.“I welcome the fact that the Tavern is back in business,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to get a pint late at night if I want one.” |
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