In January 2013 Islington Council voted to adopt their proposed licencing policy (see below) and declared the whole of the ward of Clerkenwell an “area of cumulative impact and saturation”. Put simply this means that the number of licenced premises has reached a level where crime and anti-social behaviour are being exacerbated, and public safety and a peaceful and ordered environment are being put at risk.
I’m not sure whether the new policy has had a direct bearing on a proposed Merlin’s Club, but I would hope that it has, as this would demonstrate that it is being effective. Merlin’s Club is the name of a proposed drinking club which was to have been established in the large premises at 1 Naoroji Street, opposite the Amwell Medical Practice. The club was for the benefit of those people who worked there and their guests.
Although the opening hours were fairly limited there was no doubt that the club would have been very disruptive to local residents who had already been disturbed by unofficial parties on the site. The Amwell Society and 26 other people wrote to Islington’s licencing office to oppose the opening of the club, describing the disruption that had already been caused by people in 1 Naoroji Street, and pointing out that there were already plenty of places for people to have a drink after work in the area. Last week the application for a licence was turned down by the licencing committee.
Under Islington’s new policy In order for licencing applications to be modified or rejected members of the public must register their objections with the licencing office. If no one says anything applications will go through. So when you see a notice posted on a doorway or a lamppost, be sure and find out what is being proposed, because you may wish to register an objection.
Darian Mitchell