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Late-night dining bid is soundly beaten over noise fears
PLANS to serve late-night alcohol at a 420-seat orchestra and arts centre below the new Guardian newspaper building have riled neighbours who fear they will be disturbed by the noise from concert-goers.
Neighbours of Kings Place in York Way, King’s Cross, told a Town Hall licensing panel on Wednesday of fears that prostitution is creeping back into the area, and how noisy drunken revellers and diners clinking crockery on the outside terrace will destroy their evening’s peace.
Applicants Green & Fortune Ltd and Kings Place Music Foundation had asked for permission to serve alcohol until 1am seven days a week, but, after Islington Council received a deluge of mail opposing the application, they curbed their request to midnight.
However, after hearing the list of fears raised by residents, the licence was further cut back to allow alcohol to be served until midnight inside the building but to end by 10.30pm outdoors.
Kings Place will host two resident orchestras and include teaching rooms, art and sculpture galleries housing the Borchard Collection of self-portraits, restaurants, and seven floors of offices.
Neighbours claimed Wednesday’s licensing application was a betrayal by the building’s developers.
They said they had struck a deal not to object to an earlier planning application on the grounds of noise, as long as the venue stopped serving alcohol by 11pm.
Caroline Gerrard, who lives on one of the boats in Battlebridge Basin, which is overlooked by Kings Place, said: “My experience is that even with one person on a flat balcony talking on their phone, you can follow their conversation. When those people are talking on the terrace they will sound like they are on my boat.”
Paul Birtwhistle, of property consultants EC Harris, representing chairman Richard Clare, said: “We employ 100 staff. Part of our decision to move to Kings Place was that [a squad of] police had spent a lot of time moving drug addicts and prostitution from the area.
“We think a late licence will be a huge risk to our staff and totally undo all the work the squad has done. Our security are saying that now the squad has gone there’s evidence that prostitution is coming back.”
Ward councillor Paul Convery said: “There’s a lot of potential for people to be making a lot of noise.”
But Peter Glazebrook, representing the applicants said: “It’s going to be something that’s an asset to everyone. It has an important role to play in the community. For that they will need to have food and drink.” |
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