Soho Housing Association CEO Barbara Brownlee

A HOUSING expert has slammed a proposed licensing shake-up that could radically extend licences for late-night venues.

Soho Housing Association chief executive Barbara Brownlee told the Extra the changes should never have been considered in the first place.

Politicians in neighbouring Camden were due to discuss scrapping a system where licences are considered based on their “cumulative impact”.

The changes – which would have had a knock-on impact on the West End – would have allowed many pubs to stay open an hour later.

The scheduled meeting was cancelled with a few hours to go with community representatives and tenant groups suggesting it had perhaps been stopped to avoid police concerns being aired in public.

Ms Brownlee said: “Withdrawing the plans at this late stage is not enough.

“We feel the way they were brought forward was disingenuous and duplicitous.”

She said she had been told the council had suggested the changes on the back of responses made at a “citizens’ assembly”.

Citizens’ assemblies – a collection of individuals selected to be representative of the wider population that meets and makes recommendations – have been a key demand of the environmental movement.

Ms Brownlee said: “The council say the policies came from a citizens’ assembly but they did not invite any of the landlords in the area. We should have been involved, as it will affect many of our tenants.

“It is incredible they have suggested making these changes based on a strategy no one has yet seen.”

She added Soho Housing Association owned 40 commercial premises in the West End and so understood the needs of businesses, but a balance had to be struck.

She said: “There is no plausible reason to get rid of the framework hours and impact zones.

“It does not prohibit granting licences. For example, Outernet were given a 4am licence recently to operate in Denmark Street, but it doesn’t mean you have to.”

She added that a multi-pronged approach to balancing the needs of residents and businesses and encouraging a night-time economy was needed.

She said: “People want to see more police, better transport and the streets cleaned.

“That is how you encourage people to come out into the West End at night, make it feel like a safe and pleasant experience, not just because venues can stay open till the early hours.

“Clubs and live music are great but to have more and more 4am licences, chucking people out on the street without enough transport or police officers, that is not a way of supporting central London.”

The licensing shake-up drew objections from senior police officers as well as residents’ groups.

A formidable alliance made up of Bloomsbury Association Bloomsbury Residents’ Action Group, the Charlotte Street Association, the Covent Garden Community Association, Kentish Town Road Action, Seven Dials Trust, and the Tenants and Residents Association of Camden Town, had objected to the proposals (see below).

A council spokesperson said it was considering the changes after months “engaging the community” about a new night-time economy strategy, and added: “We want to avoid job losses and empty high streets. We also heard that we need to deal more robustly with badly-run venues.”

A statement added: “We will be proposing a set of policies, with more robust licensing conditions and a charter of expectations finalised with our community through a public consultation.

“We have received feedback about our draft policy, and before starting the consultation process formally we will undertake additional engagement with statutory partners, in particular with the Metropolitan police to look in depth at evidence and data they can provide.”

Strategy ‘not agreed’

THE Bloomsbury groups wrote: “Thinking that the proposed changes will promote diversity and mitigate impacts is like thinking that removing traffic lights and increasing speed limits will encourage more people to cycle and increase road safety!

“It flies in the face of both common sense and evidence.

“The licensing committee meeting was cancelled at short notice… perhaps because the council didn’t want the significant concerns raised by the police to be discussed in public… The official position is that it is delayed because “further engagement is required with statutory partners given the complexity of the proposals and concerns raised.”

“No mention is made of concerns raised by residents’ groups or Soho Housing about the impact on residents, and there is no commitment to engage with us. The licensing policy proposals were based on an evening and night-time strategy that has not yet been published or agreed.”

And they added: “Certainly we have not been asked to be involved even though we represent the views of residents in the areas that will be most impacted. We all agree that there is a need to preserve and enhance Camden’s evening and night-time economy, but the licensing policy proposals that were made will not achieve this.”