Tea dance for OAPs infuriates residents in Burghley Road, Tufnell Park

Published: 14 October, 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

A SECONDARY school  is to host tea dances for pensioners despite fierce protests from neighbours.

Objectors packed into a committee room at the Town Hall on Tuesday evening as organisers Jane Rowe and Arthur Dabrowski were given the green light to hold  ballroom and Latin dance classes at Acland Burghley school in Tufnell Park.

The application to hold events on Saturday afternoons at the Burghley Road premises and until 10.30pm during the week caused fury among residents who said their peace and quiet would be disturbed. They also claimed roads would get clogged up and anti-social behaviour in the area would become worse.

Tanya Datta, who has lived in Burghley Road for nine years, described the application as “the straw that broke the camel’s back”.

She added: “We are near clubs and pubs and throughout the weekend there is vomit and beer bottles scattered all over the place. 

“Residents already have to put up with loud, bass-heavy music emanating from these premises.”

Neighbour Virginia van Hasselt added: “When you walk out of your house you don’t expect it to be like Piccadilly Circus. No matter how well behaved the guests may be, it’s impossible for large numbers of people to not make their presence felt.”

But Ms Rowe and Mr Dabrowski, who have set up Carmen Dance Tea Dances, dismissed claims that the events, aimed at the over-50s, would add to the area’s problems. 

“The only drugs the guests will be taking are caffeine and beta blockers,” Ms Rowe told the panel. “The people coming are mostly pensioners, for many of whom, their entire social life is attending these dances. I’ve been to these kind of events for five years and I’ve never seen anything get out of hand.”

The committee approved the application on condition that Ms Rowe and Mr Dabrowski agreed to adhere to a strict set of terms. The duo promised there would be a maximum of 120 guests and no more than 12 evening events a year finishing at 10.30pm at the latest. They also agreed to hold all events in the soundproofed dance hall with the windows closed.

Ms Rowe and Mr Dabrowski withdrew an application last month to sell alcohol at the school.