Licencing Applications w/e 20 April

Bluu
1 Hoxton SquareLondon N1 6NU

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow the provision of live music during existing hours and to permit changes to area permitted for sale/supply of alcohol.

Closing date for representations:
15/05/2007

T Bar Shut Down

The police have asked the owners of the T Bar in Shoreditch to close down for two weeks to get their act together on drugs. An undercover officer was offered class A drugs minutes after entering the club. The manging director Jaime Ritchie was told the police would apply to have its licence revoked if they didn't offer to shut the place down and put in place measures to keep drugs out of their club.

Good to see the police taking tough action and good to see the T Bar management taking the right decision and having some time out to get the right procedures in place.

Licencing Applications w/c 13 April

Jam
123 Shoreditch High StLondon E1 6JE

Application to vary an existing premises licence to allow supply of alcohol and recorded music from 10:00 until 23:00 Mon to Sat and from 12:00 to 22:30 Sun.

Claosing date for representations: 08/05/2007

Licensing Applications w/e 6 April

One Shop Food & Wine
149 - 150 Shoreditch StLondon E1 6HU

Mr Suppiah

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises up to 24 hours a day.

Closing date for representations: 30/4/07

Hoxton Library
40 Pitfield StreetLondon N1 6EU


Mr Gill and Ms Abbott

Application for a premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol, provision of regulated entertainment comprising of plays, films, live/recorded music, facilities for making music/dancing and the provision of late night refreshment from 10:00 until 02:00 Mon to Sat and from 12:00 until 00:00 Sun.

Licensing Applications w/e 30 March

Maxwells
138-139 Shoreditch High StreetLondon E1 6JE

Application to vary existing licence to permit regulated entertainment comprising of live/recorded music, late night refreshment and sale/supply of alcohol until 02:30 Tuesday to Sat.

Closing date for representations: 24/4/07

Urban Village Store
131 Curtain RoadLondon EC2A 3BX

Mr Dogan

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises up to 24 hours a day.

Licensing Applications w/e 23 March

Garrique Ltd
105 Great Eastern StreetLondon EC2A 3JD

Application for a premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises from 10:00 until 21:00 Mon to Sat and from 10:00 until 18:00 on Sun.

Closing date for representations: 19/4/07

Medicine
89 Great Eastern StreetLondon EC2A 3HX

Application to vary an existing premises licence to specify revised Condition (17). This is a condition in the original licence that says there can be no new admisions after 00.30.

Closing date for representations 20/4/07

Licencing Applications w/c 19 March

Bacchus Wine Cellar
25 Shoreditch High Street
London E1 6PG

Map

Mr Akyol

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow supply alcohol for consumption off the premises from 09:00 until 04:00 daily.

Closing date for representations: 10/04/2007

Licensing Applications w/e 9 February

Filli Bar
129-131 City Road
London EC1V 9LB

Mr Balaban

Application to vary existing premises licence to extend hours for the supply of alcohol and to permit live/recorded music and facilities for dancing and the provision of late night refreshment from 11:00 until 23:00 Sun to Tues, 11:00 until 01:00 Weds and Fri and from 11:00 until 03:00 Fri and Sat.

Closing date for representations: 07/03/2007

Efes Supermarket
8 Pitfield Street
London N1 6AH

Mr Ozdas

Application to vary existing premises licence to allow supply of alcohol for consumption off the premises from 07:00 to 04:00 daily.

Closing date for representations: 9/3/07

Shoreditch Licensing Meeting

There was a meeting last night in Shoreditch Town Hall which brought together local residents and licensees to discuss the tensions that the night time economy can create and how the Council and the police are hoping to work together with the community to make the area a better place for everyone. It was at times lively but generally the debate was really constructive.


What struck me most of all was that many licensees seem to feel genuinely hard done by and really resent the Special Policy Area which restricts, amongst other things, opening hours in and around the Shoreditch triangle. Complaints about the SPA from licensees seem to miss the point.


Bars in Shoreditch that are struggling are not finding life difficult because of the Special Policy Area or because enforcement is too tough. They are struggling because people don't want to spend their money with them. If they should end up closing, hopefully someone more imaginative and talented will take over and make a go of the premises either as a bar or as a restaurant or some kind of day time use.


There are loads of good bars within the SPA that do just fine and it's no surprise that they are the ones who realise that running a successful bar in an area like this requires more than flinging up half a dozen plasmas and opening late. It requires investment in staff and premises, imagination and a willingness to try different things. No-one on the Council has it in for bar owners - if licensees stick to the rules there won't be a problem and if they don't they will be dealt with in a consistent and proportionate way.



The constant doom laden predictions I hear from Shoreditch bar owners that competition from other parts of London will kill the night time economy are nonsense. What will kill the area is if we fail to crack down on the badly run bars, fail to make people (especially women) feel safe when they go out here and fail to offer people something different. Cheap drinks, late hours and proximity to strip clubs is not a recipe for a sustainable Shoreditch. Fewer, better bars, more restaurants and cafes, well maintained green spaces, more trees and more day time retail is.

LICENCING APPLICATIONS W/E 3 FEBRUARY

Cost to Cost, Mr Abdullah
227 Shoreditch High StLondon E1 6PJ
Map

Application for a premises licence to allow the supply of alcohol from 09:00 to 23:00 Mon to Fri, 09:30 to 11:30 Sat and 10:30 to 22:30 on Sun, and allow provision of late night refreshment from 23:00 to 00:00 Mon to Sat.

Clsoing date for representations: 28/2/07

Let us know if you have any concerns about this application.

0% Rise in Council Tax and More Investment

Full Council on Wednesday saw the Mayor announce Labour's budget plans for Hackney Council.
For the first time in memory we were able to do this far enough in advance to enable the Overview & Scrutiny Board to scrutinise the proposals before they are voted on at the budget-setting council next month.

So in year 5 of a Labour administration we are able to propose that:

Hackney’s part of the council tax is being frozen for the second year in a row - with a 0% rise for 2007/8.

Rising collection rates and efficiency savings at the Town Hall mean we are able to put more money into key services without putting up council tax.

It will be the fifth year that there are NO cuts in services in Hackney’s budget.

There will be boosts for key services including:

KIDS SWIM FREE

An extra £295K to fund free access to all residents under 18 to swimming lessons during school holidays – starting this Easter.

BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE

An extra £80K to extend the opening hours of the Hackney Service Centre from 8am-6pm Monday-Friday to 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday AND Saturday morning. More translating services for customers without English as a first language.

STREET WARDENS

Investment to secure the future for Hackney’s Street Wardens to help make our borough cleaner and safer.

MORE RECYCLING

An extra £250K to roll out compulsory recycling across the borough including for plastics and to introduce blue bins for kitchen waste to all kerbside collections.

MORE TREES

An extra 500 trees on Hackney’s street this year alone – reducing our carbon footprint and making Hackney greener.

GREENER HACKNEY

An extra £1.3m to improve Hackney’s parks and green spaces.

SCHOOLS

In addition, Hackney’s schools are getting an extra £11 million to continue the improvements in education in Hackney that have seen GCSE results improve from 32% in 2002 to 51% today.

Police Seek Reviews of Two Shoreditch Licences

The police in Shoreditch have applied for a review of the licences of two bars in the area. Jam on Shoreditch High Street and The Plaza opposite the Geffrye Museum.

Shortly before Christmas a young man was murdered in the basement at Jam and many people wondered how a bar with a licence til 1.00am was still open at 4.00 am when the man was shot.

Many people were also puzzled when 333 was served with a closure notice just before Christmas and Jam remained open.

Licencing Applications W/E 26 January 2007

The following application has been made to vary the licence at the recently refurbished Spreadeagle pub on Kingsland Road.

Application to vary existing licence to allow supply of alcohol, and regulated entertainment comprising of films, live/recorded, facilities for making music/dancing and any facilities of a similar description from 10:00 until 04:00 Mon to Sat and from 12:00 until 00:00 on Sun.

If you want to make representations about this application let us know before 21/2/07.

No Happy New Year for 333

Just before Christmas we had some good news. A closure notice was served on 333, the nightclub situated at 333 Old Street. This was the first licensed premises in Hackney to be shut under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003.

The owner of 333 Vicki Pengilley (who also owns the Red Lion and the Bricklayers Arms) has vowed to work with the police to tackle the problems that led to the club's closure.

Let's hope this sends out a powerful message to other bar and club owners in the ward - stick by the rules or you'll be hit where it hurts most - your pocket.


I hope all those who planned to attend the 'Hoxton Apocalypse' found somewhere else to herald the arrival of 2007.

Cinderella

Went to Cinderella at the weekend. Yet another Hackney Empire Panto triumph.

Lotte Collette "You only boo me cos i'm boo-tiful" was a brilliant evil stepmother. Donna Steele as Cinderella was gorgeous and the choreography and singing were first rate. The routine they put together to the Scissor Sisters "I don;t feel like dancing" was genius and worth the entrance fee alone.

I really urge you to go even if you don;t normally got to pantos - go on a Saturday at 5pm and you have the rest of the evening to play with.

Cllr McShane

Haggerston Pool

The people behind the campaign to reopen Haggerston Pool will be bringing a deputation to Council in the new year with the backing of Councillors from Haggerston and neighbouring Queensbridge.

The Council has been working on plans to reopen the pool and good progress is being made. Asbestos is being carefully removed so a full structural survey can be carried out. Only then will we have a really clear idea what the options and the associated costs are.

Haggerston is changing all the time and it needs a focal point for the community more than ever. Hopefully a reopened Haggerston Pool, with a range of additonal facilities and services hosted in the same building can provide it.

Socialist Worker Vandals at it Again

Hackney South Socialist Worker are at it again. Vandalising large parts of Hackney with posters for their latest meeting - which sounds like a riot...

Putting "Not to be Flyposted" in tiny letters at the bottom is not much use if you send your foot soldiers out with a paintbrush and a bucket of paste.

If the people behind the organisation contact me through the site I'll happily buy them some blu tack as a Christmas present and a gesture of solidarity between parties of the left in Hackney.

In the meantime, expect another call from Hackney Council whose officers rightly take a dim view of vandals.

Cllr McShane

Cinderella at the Empire

Cinderella opened at the Hackney Empire yesterday. As a young boy growing up in Glasgow I was forced to endure school trips to worthy but incredibly dull pantos put on by the likes of the 7:84 theatre company. No sweets thrown into the audience, no singalongs, no "he's behind you" but unsubtle allegories about nuclear war or racism. Hackney Empire, by contrast, consistently puts on the perfect Christmas show. Great acting, great music and choreography, loads of lame jokes about Hackney. Most importantly their pantos are written in a way that appeals to kids and the adults in the audience at the same time.

Last year's show was described as "Better than Prozac" by the Evening Standard and the Financial Times said the Empire's pantos "have been the most reliably raucous seasonal fun in London"

I urge you to go.

Cllr McShane

Wrong Target

Just how wrong can the brave class warrior who created this piece of vandalism be? There are a number of serious arguments we can have about 'gentrification' and developments of private flats in Haggerston but they've picked the wrong target here.

Just who are the profiteers here? Is it Community Housing Group - the not for profit organisation behind this development?

Tatty flats? They look quite nice to me.

Suckers? That'll be the key workers who are the only people eligible for the houses here.

And just how many private flats are there in this exercise in gentrification and social cleansing? That's right. Zero.

Loads of flats and space for local businesses on the ground floor to create job opportunities for local people.

Cllr McShane

Pet Cemetery?

A big thank you for everyone who voted for Hackney City Farm in the telephone poll to decide which organisation won a Big Lottery Fund grant through the People's Millions scheme.

Hackney City Farm’s Back to Earth project will use the cash to reclaim and clean up unused wasteland in and around Haggerston Park and local estates for public and community use. The farm is a much loved and admired part of Hackney life and a real jewel in Haggerston's crown.

As the best runner up in the region the farm gets £50,000 to support its work. We know they'll spend it well.


The winner was the PDSA in Ilford who want to restore a pet cemetery. People's priorities can be very strange.