The Marquess Tavern, 32 Canonbury Street, has applied to Islington Council to place four benches and tables on the footway running down the side of the pub on the pavement at the top of Arran Walk from 11am to 10.30pm every day. The consultation was posted on the 27th April and interested parties have been invited to reply by the 24th May 2009.
The Marquess Tavern, which already has outside benches within the boundaries of their site, has since changed their application and asked for the time the benches are put out on the public highway to be changed to Monday to Friday from 5pm to 9pm and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 9pm. It is not clear at this stage if the Council will have to re-consult because of the change in the application and extend the deadline beyond the 24th May. However, if you would like to comment on the application you should assume that any letters received after the 24th will not count.
Those most closely affected by this application strongly oppose it as they do not want the additional noise and disruption. The Marquess Tavern is situated in a residential area and local residents do not feel that providing additional external seating is beneficial to the character of the area or their quality of life. Furthermore the local residents are already experiencing high levels of crime and antisocial behaviour in the area and do not want to provide a further potential focus for this kind of activity. Local residents are also concerned that the management of the Marquess Tavern is already bound by a number of licensing requirements which appear not to be meeting. These have been raised with the licensing authorities separately.
The owners of the Marquess Tavern have also stated that they are considering opening up the upstairs of the pub which would further increase seating. It is not clear at this stage if the owners would have to apply for this change in the license and if there would be a further consultation. Those most closely affected by these changes are strongly supportive of all their local businesses and they would not necessarily object to this as they all want to see local businesses thrive. However the additional seating outside is not something that they feel they can support.
We saw from the campaign run by local residents to counter the application for a Thresher's off licence on Canonbury Place just how effective local residents responding to these applications can be. Please do send your comments and concerns to:
Public Realm Department, Streetworks, Tables and Chairs Section, 4th floor, 222 Upper Street, London N1 1YA or email
