Revellers vs residents – boom time or bust for Dalston’s nightlife?
Who knows what the future holds for Dalston? Photograph: Colm McAfee
Some would argue the death knell for Dalston was sounded in 2009 when Vogue Italia proclaimed it one of coolest places on earth.
Everyone seemed to want a slice of the Dalston effect with canny landlords profiteering from monumental rent hikes whilst new clubs, bars and restaurants popped up from nowhere on what seemed like a daily basis.
This rapid swelling of the night time economy in Dalston has, according to some residents, reached saturation point.
Ursula Hughes, Secretary of the Rio Cross Residents Group, said: “When new jazz and modern music venues started to open we welcomed them at first, but around 2009, the friendly balance between residents, the local creative community, the day time economy and the night time economy started to go horribly wrong.
“Local residents think the number of licensed premises in the area has reached saturation point and that some, but not all, of them are badly managed.
“We certainly do not want to close down all the venues in the area. But we do want to be able to sleep at night and go about our daily lives in peace.”
It now appears that Hackney Council is poised to act after the Scrutiny Commission on the Night Time Economy published its final report in February, with a formal response from the Cabinet expected soon.
The Commission made eight recommendations, which include introducing a Special Policy Area in Dalston, improving the accessibility of licensing information and the enforcement of existing licence conditions, as well as ensuring licence holders contribute towards the cost of mitigating negative impacts, and making the management of the night time economy more transparent and accountable.
Lylall Hakaraia, co-owner of Dalston venue Vogue Fabrics said: “It’s up to the council to stop [anti-social behaviour] happening and for the residents to kick up a stink.
“As far as the policy is concerned any engagement with the community is a good thing as it means people have to stand up and be counted.
“It’s a pity we can’t do it without the council wading in but it is a starting point and if we have to pay and change our ways then good.”
He added: “Dalston needs to get a grip as it will lose the magic it has to a bunch of mediocre suits that just want to make a fast buck.
“The diversity that once was celebrated here will disappear before our eyes and be replaced with a universal blandness that is found in most parts of England already.
“The junkie and fashion student, the Turk and the weave wearer all need to have a place in the neighbourhood that I call home.”
In February there was a visible flourish of activity from Hackney police with Operation Falcon targeting crimes relating to the night time economy such as the licensing of venues, anti-social behaviour, the under-age selling of alcohol and theft.
Inspector Ian Simpkins from Hackney’s Licensing/Night Time Economy Team, said: “Operation Falcon has seen some excellent results involving various partner agencies.
“Licensing impacts on our everyday life, in our shops and supermarkets.
This means alcohol should not be sold to young people, and in our pubs and clubs it means alcohol is sold and consumed in a responsible way.
“We also remain determined to pursue and arrest perpetrators who prey on those who use the night time economy, who would steal from others, supply harmful drugs or would do them physical harm.
“Of equal importance, we strive to lessen the impact of the night time economy on local residents who in some cases have had their lives blighted by anti-social behaviour and noise. We will continue to commit our resources to this and work extremely hard with our partners to tackle these areas in the future.”
The crackdown from the council and the police is not without its critics and some local businesses have seemingly been penalised by the new hard line.
In Stoke Newington, Efes Pool Club and Bar has had its licence revoked whilst Tipsy Bar lost its appeal against the council’s refusal to grant an extension of its basement licence to the ground floor.
Stuart Glen from Tipsy Bar said: “It feels like we are being made an example of, they are putting barrier after barrier after barrier up to try and make it look like they are tackling the problem.
“They are basically saying that you have not got a chance if you want to open a bar in Dalston and they are trying to scare people off by using us as an example.”
He added: “We have come at a slightly bad time and the pressure has hit us hard, people are speaking out vocally, putting pressure on the council.
“We came at a time when the council had to make a decision on how to deal with the night time economy but rather than listen to our side of the story and looking into how we are operating and give us a chance they have just said no.”
Regarding the apparent saturation problem Mr Glen believes it is not as bad as they say: “Dalston is not the same as it was five or ten years ago,” he said.
“People would feel intimidated walking down Kingsland Road, now they don’t feel intimidated, it’s much safer.
“The people who go out in Dalston are not a bad crowd, they’re not violent, they like to party and they like to have fun but they are generally a creative, intelligent group of people who can hold a good conversation.
“Occasionally you might have a few who cause problems but their behaviour isn’t that bad and it has been blown out of all proportion.”
Dalston residents are more than happy to see the value of their houses go sky high while traders (who have largely made the place what it is) scratch around for a living.
The residents should be subsidising business rates if anything, and welcoming new start-ups with open arms rather that trying to pull the drawbridge up now that they’ve feathered their nests.
Not all residents in Dalston own their homes, so rising house prices are not the issue for these people. And those who do own their houses predominantly want to stay in their area because they like it so much – the price of their house is not a major concern as they have no wish to sell up. The issue is noise and anti-social behaviour. House prices are a red-herring.
The people being mentioned might be “generally a creative, intelligent group of people who can hold a good conversation” but this good conversation tends to morph into screaming, shouting, loud group singing, urinating, vomiting and littering in peoples’ streets, pavements and gardens at 3am. Which then has leads to the building of police watch towers on the streets of Dalston. Too many bars, late hours and easy access to alcohol in residential areas have caused this situation to occur. No wonder residents, in owned homes, privately rented homes and council homes, are complaining. It’s simple, really.
How about some bars opening for the older residents. We still like to go out for a bit socialising.
I am gobsmacked by the state of denial expressed by Stuart Glen from the Tipsy Bar, who said: “Occasionally you might have a few who cause problems but their behaviour isn’t that bad and it has been blown out of all proportion.”
I am awoken at about 2 or 3am almost EVERY SINGLE NIGHT by screeching drunken people coming out of the bars on Kingsland High Street. I’ve lived here for 30 years and the noise and behaviour problems have escalated in just the past four or five years.
If Mr Glen would kindly supply his home address, perhaps I could arrange for his front doorway doused – on a daily basis – with urine, excrement, litter, used condoms and for him to be woken up with incessant loud drunken screaming noises just three hours after he has fallen asleep, each and every day. Whenever he stepped out of his home I could arrange to have gangs of drunken people block his way, preventing him from walking freely along the pavement.
Only after he had suffered this feeling of powerlessness and profound sleep deprivation, night after night, week after week, month after month, would I accept that he is in a position to judge proportionality on disturbance due noise and anti-social behaviour.
Of course, I wouldn’t wish this nocturnal cacophony on my worst enemy. But I do wish Mr Glen and other bar owners in the area would recognise that, whilst they are profiting handsomely from running these bars, they are also – however obtusely – perpetrators of the anti-social behaviour that is making life hell for local residents on a daily basis.
Apart from my neighbours, the people I feel sorry for – and am grateful to – are the Hackney police. A few days ago I saw a young guy openly pissing in my street at 11pm. Luckily for him, a police officer got to him before I did. The officer gave him a severe ticking off, after which I thought the guy would apologise. Instead he gave the police officer a mouthful of abuse (and, I suspect, was subsequently arrested). I doubt anyone joins the police force so that they can become wet nurses to the drunken hipsters of Dalston.
Whats happening in dalston is what the residents of shoreditch have had to put up with for years.It was the council that encouraged the so called night time economy and any complaints to councillors,police etc have fallen on deaf ears.Will inspector simpkins and his team be moving up the road to shoreditch?
This review was completed by the Living in Hackney Scrutiny Commission, the final report and recommendations are available at: http://www.hackney.gov.uk/nightlife
As mentioned in the article, the formal response to our recommendations from the Cabinet will be published later this month (for the Cabinet meeting on 22nd April).
The Commission will be receiving an update on the implementation of the recommendations in October 2013.
Hackney scrutiny,I logged on to the web page,it states that shoreditch night life was being looked at.and how it affected those living in that area.Dalston isnt Shoreditch.Were two reports made?Because it seems that the council and police were quick to act in Dalston but not Hoxton or Shoreditch.
The scrutiny review considered the night time economy across the borough, including Shoreditch, Dalston, Stoke Newington, Clapton and Hackney Central. Most of the recommendations are about the borough as a whole, with some recommendations specific to Shoreditch and/or Dalston as the two biggest night time economy areas.
Another scrutiny of the Broadway Market and East London Fields area wouldn’t go amiss either, before the starry-eyed supporters of the currently ruinous, free-for-all, short-sighted ‘night-time economy’ ideology get completely intoxicated with the hipster frenzy. Fashions change; bars move on. We live here.
Bill E8,Now that the council have a different agenda for shoreditch and dalston it seems that they are cracking down on the clubs.All the noise etc that we complained about for years which the council took no notice of is now an issue.Does anyone know which TAs and TMOs etc were asked in this survey?
pat – What are TAs and TMOs?
Bill E8,tenants associations and tenant management groups.These were taking the complaints from the residents and passing them on to the councillors and council with no results.Now the council have stated that shoreditch will become tec city the council look like altering their policy on the night life.
I think its really sad if they start closing down venues in this area, or anywhere in London where there is a thriving nighttime scene. If you live in a city you have to put up with noise and unpleasant behavior, its part of living in the city. Places change, times move on. You can try and manage it but ultimately maybe its time for some residents to move on if they don’t like the way the neighborhood is going, this is a busy dirty, noise road and at least now it is safe to walk down at night, which it was not 6 or 7 years ago. Having a diverse nightlife is crucial to London attracting talent and being a world class city, the areas where this is flourishing should have a hands off approach by the council and police.
So the council estates and residents should all move on to make way for party goers,the majority of which dont live in the area.The Follingham Estate in drysdale street now looks like a prison because of the extra security thats been installed to stop the club patrons using the doorways and stairs of the flats as urinals etc.This isnt a new problem and goes back to 1992 when a large meeting was held to stop clubs opening in the area.The council took no notice then so what i am asking is whats changed?
Eastmangement:
1. It is “really sad” when residents can’t sleep because of disturbing noise and behaviour.
2. Venues are closed down if they don’t stick to their licenses or the conditions linked to their licenses. Venues anywhere in the UK are closed down more often than perhaps you realise, so why shouldn’t this happen in Hackney also, if they flout their licenses?
3. If you live in a city you certainly don’t have to “put up with” the noise and unpleasant behaviour – you can question and challenge it and you can promote tolerance and respect for every citizen, not just those who believe it is somehow their right to cause noise and unpleasant behaviour because they live in a city. A city is the ultimate (so far) social environment, made up of all kinds of citizens, not just drinkers and screamers. Hackney, and any part of any city, is not just for drinkers and screamers.
4. Places change and times move on, for sure. I’ve lived in Hackney for 20 years and have witnessed constant change all around me. The vast majority of changes have been middling to very good. Bars and clubs are welcome – any urban society should not deny this. But the last two or three years have been the worst for noise and unpleasant behaviour caused by bars and clubs. Change is great and will happen, has to happen. Managing change is the key and the council have not done this in the last few years. They have not planned, they have not listened to residents. They have allowed a free-for-all, allowing any bar or club that seemed like a good idea at the time to get a license. A lot of bar and club owners have seen the potential for quick money and have claimed that they are making the area more ‘lively’, more ‘diverse’. A lot of the bars peddle this claim but don’t seem to care a hoot about the effect of their venue on the area. Most new licenses nowadays request late-night drinking hours, to see what they can get away with: more hours drinking means more profit for their owners. The council is now in the embarrassing and difficult situation of realising that the very people who pay their council tax have not been talked to. They are now having to manage, but don’t know how to stop the ‘night-time economy’ from invading residents’ sleep and peeing on residents’ pavements. They are now in the uncomfortable position of backpedalling. This is why bars and clubs are complaining of being picked on. The council has realised that they have been attracting drinkers and screamers and no-one else, and it has all become an almighty, noisy mess.
5. Please don’t suggest that residents should ‘move on’. This smacks of social cleansing. A lot of residents you seem to dismiss in their views about noise and anti-social behaviour moved into Hackney and started up a lot of the small businesses and bars and cafes and co-ops and social enterprises when Dalston and Broadway Market and Chatsworth Road were some of the least trendy areas in London. They started the trend and saw the potential of Hackney. These residents invested and spent time saving for and creating homes for themselves and a community around them. They saved the Rio, the Empire, started up the Arcola. And there are others who have roots that go back longer and deeper into East London still. Generations of people live here – young, middle-aged and older single people, families, couples, pensioners, old and young gay and straight people, old and young Black, Asian and White people, house-owners, rent-payers, council tenants – who perhaps you don’t see or hear of because they don’t drink coffee in the latest trendy coffee shop or drink in the latest pop-up cocktail bar. They all live here. How dare you suggest that they should ‘move on’ because they can’t sleep due to the drinkers and screamers. They are not causing the problem, the drinkers and screamers are, and you are also with your support of their behaviour.
6. Dalston’s main road might be safer to walk down at night regarding muggings and pushers, but it is not now a pleasant place to spend an evening for Hackney’s residents due to the drunkenness, behaviour and noise. The night-time economy has made it a destination for drinkers and screamers, but for no-one else. Is this what Hackney Council’s plans for regeneration are all about? 6 or 7 years ago, at least you could sleep at night in your own bedroom and almost guarantee that the screamers would not wake you up at 3am. And I remember no time in the past 20 years when the police thought that they should put up police watchtowers to look out for trouble on the High Street. Is this an indication that the road is getting safer, a trouble-free place to drink?
7. London has and always will attract talent. There are, always have been, some marvellously talented people in Hackney. However, for those that live next to this talent it seems to them that the talent that this talent is attracting is the talent to drink massive amounts of alcohol then scream at the top of its lungs at 3am. What talent!
8. Your wish for a hands-off approach by the council and police is wonderfully, staggeringly naive. The boroughs which have the most flourishing diverse nightlife (Camden and Lambeth, for example) are those that have planned and marketed and consulted and managed their bars and clubs. The police and councils are integral to the success of night-time economies. Giving a key high street in a borough a bunch of late-night licenses and saying ‘Go for it’ is not planning, it’s social madness.
It’s not the regeneration of Dalston that is creating so many upset and sleepless residents, it’s the way it has been planned – or not planned. Hackney Council’s planning and licensing departments need to sort this situation out. And it doesn’t help improve anything when support for the current situation comes in the form of cliched, lazy, naive, laissez-faire, patronising suggestions and comments. Please don’t complain that people are complaining about the noise and the peeing – you’d be better off complaining to the council and the police and the venues’ managers and owners. You’re blaming the wrong people.
We, all, live here.
im cashing in on these losers !!! and getting out of the close fest that is dalston …
How about a tshirt that has stains and bits stuck to it to look live vomit.with the. words “i survived the night.
Ok i agree with some but disagree with some.
i understand the noise and littering factor.
however,
1. Bars anywhere around the world can only do so much to prevent certain things. (Make sure drinks are not leaving the venues and have door supervisors).
They Wouldn’t know what a person does 300 500 yards down the road. Are you people saying that these people you use your doors for a toilet could not be street drinkers? the council can say you need more security ect but there isint much more a venue can do.
2. late night economy that you people are talking like its nothing, is actually a big thing for those like me who has lived here for yearss.
since these major stores have been allowed to open up express shops all the local small business were suffering to a point where they are all in debt. since the bars have opened they have had the chance to breath.
3. lets talk about some peoples comments on safety (its my favourite topic, it makes me laugh hard) do you have a clue what it was likee to walk in dalston stokenewington or clapton 10 years ago. you people really need to stop talking nonsense, majority of the people here are new comers, you have just comee to dalston working in your fancy city offices. I HAVE LIVED HERE SINCE I WAS 5. Me and people like me have put up with the nastyness of this area and we have should have the right to live the pleasure of this area.
Do you think a GAY man can walk in dalston 10 years ago, he would have got taken the mick out of at the nicest, i have seen many get robbed and even beaten. 10 years ago you ladies would not dear to walk kingsland high road to a late supermarket for a milk that had run out. you would get robbed.
eversince these bars have opened up and the new developments, police have focused on this area more and people of hackney started to learn to live with you new comers, and even some really bad people that i knew from around have adapted to this trend by seing what a trendy life has to offer, it offers safe entertainment it offers different dress sence and alot more.
3.The police concentration of the area and the busy night life have made hackney a much safer environment simple as that. And for our local small businesses its a light of hope to survive.
I would prefer to have people from outside of hackney to come on spend there money in hackney small business then some of you earn here live here go to the major supermarkets whom now dont like to employ staff but instead use machines and spend your money in central London