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Objectors Roger Fowler and Cllr John Tomlinson at Islington Town Hall on Monday |
Barbican boozing to go on late into night
Bar wins 4am licence despite appeal from residents
THE Barbican, that famous high-rise residential sanctuary for the professional classes, is under attack from Islington’s late-night revellers, according to residents.
Former magazine designer Roger Fowler, 63, who has lived on the fifth floor for 32 years, told a licensing committee at the Town Hall on Monday that noise and nuisance from bars and clubs was becoming a regular occurrence.
“Where once you could close your front door on the excesses of being in the heart of the City, today noise can permeate even up to the fifth floor where I live,” he said.
Residents were objecting to a licence variation for the bar Parker McMillan at Chiswell Street, which would allow it to remain open an extra hour until 3am on Friday and 4am on Saturday.
The area is close to Clerkenwell where Islington Council plans to declare a “saturation” zone to restrict new drinking premises.
Mr Fowler said his flat in Ben Jonson tower is about 120 yards from the bar. “When their customers go outside in the early hours of the morning for cigarettes and to talk, the noise can be heard in my flat,” he said.
He said that revellers from the bar mill around outside and he has had to phone the police to get them moved on, adding: “On top of this there are minicabs tooting their horns at 2-3am.”
Another resident, Corporation of London councillor John Tomlinson, said it was not just noise in the early hours that was a nuisance, but also broken bottles and litter outside in the morning.
“I’m not saying that customers from Parker McMillan are responsible, but an extension to its operating hours might exacerbate these problems,” he added.
Speaking on behalf of the bar, solicitor James Anderson said that there were other drinking venues which could be responsible for some of the problems in the area, including the bar at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
“We believe that extra time will give our customers more time to disperse, rather than all leaving together,” he said. “This would reduce potential noise in the early hours.”
He added that the bar was employing a new manager who would be happy to keep in regular contact with residents should there be disturbances, and minicab firms would be asked to instruct their drivers not to use their horns.
The committee agreed to the extension on condition that the bar organises a dedicated minicab service, removes outside tables by 11pm and does not allow admittance after 2am.
Cllr Tomlinson said he hoped residents could work with the bar’s new management so that problems do not arise in the future. |
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