Lambeth could be first borough to ban booze after midnight

Jack Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Neighbourhoods
Jack Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Neighbourhoods

Lambeth Council could use new laws to stop nightclubs and bars in part of the borough serving alcohol after midnight.

A public consultation will get the views of local residents and businesses to help understand the impact of alcohol related anti-social behaviour and public nuisance linked to three specific venues in Clapham: The Artesian Well nightclub, Lost Society bar and Mist on Rocks bar.

The outcome may result in them facing the new restrictions under the capital’s first Early Morning Alcohol Restriction Order (EMRO).

Cllr Jack Hopkins, Cabinet Member for Safer and Stronger Neighbourhoods, said: “Residents have been complaining about alcohol-related problems in this particular corner of the borough for years, including nuisance, anti-social behaviour and large amounts of noise.”

“We are consulting on using this strong measure and if there is support for it from people in the area then the council will seriously consider putting the EMRO in place.”

Lambeth Council has been discussing the restriction order with the Home Office which has offered to work with the local authority to ensure that the public consultation is carried out in line with the new legislation.

If adopted the EMRO could come into force from January 2014 and ban the sale of alcohol from midnight to 6am in the affected area. Breaches will mean the venues in this area could be stripped of their licenses and prosecuted.

A consultation on the EMRO is now open here.

 

4 COMMENTS

  1. The Council is responding to complaints from residents that go back to when the local pubs were converted into late night venues ie night clubs against the wishes of local residents . The EMRO area is a residential area that has been turned into a mini-Magaluf at weekends and Bank holidays as drunk customers evacuate the premises in their hundreds from 0100-0300. The effect of this is disastrous on this community with long term residents being driven out and those that are left having to cope with noisy drunken anti-social behaviour that doesnt allow most resident to sleep until after 0330 every weekend .These venues blame each other for the debacle. Indeed the Artesian Well Nightclub in a court case blamed the Lost Society and Plough (now Mist on the Rocks) for the anti-social behaviour and nuisance and their lawyer agreed that there was an area problem that needed to be addressed with an area solution as did the Judge who reduced the AW opening times. Since then the siltation has not changed and on some nights got worse and residents demanded that the Council act. To their credit they have acted in redrafting their Licensing policy and launching an EMRO consultation. Hopefully now we will soon be able to get our community back

  2. I am fed up with Reactionary Councillers coming up with these vote catching ideas that do not address the real problems in our community. You have done nothing to stop the closing down of pubs in Brixton, now you are trying to close down the Nightclubs. I wonder if these councillers have been trained by the Taliban perhaps. Brixton and Clapham have always been a centre of entertainment; we dont want them turned into centres of prohibition policed by tea totelling fanatics hoping to capture the vote of the ultra conservative religious brigade who seem to be increasing their sway in a Borough which used to be renouned for its liberalism and socialism.
    Address the real problems in the Borough, that is Housing for the locals; no young people starting families’ do not want to be put up by friends, or stay living with their parents. They want affordable housing where rents are paid to the Council, not to private rip off landlords. They also want a fair system of allocation. Get real!!!

Comments are closed.