
Islington Police yesterday (23rd February) presented an alarming picture of alcohol-related crime to a Council Committee. The headlines are that:
- Islington has the second-highest rate of alcohol-related violent crime in London, after Westminster, which has more police;
- Angel, Old Street, Holloway Road and Finsbury Park are the hotspots for alcohol-related violence;
- off-licences, some open 24 hours, now far outnumber on-licensed premises in Islington and are being used by many people to “pre-load” with cheap alcohol, before even arriving at pubs and clubs;
- Islington now has the highest rate of alcohol-related (non-emergency) hospital admissions in London, both for under-18s and adults.
Fortunately, there was also some good news. Following Police & Council campaigns, violence with injury has fallen by 10% in the last year.
Islington Police say they will now oppose applications for licensed premises which propose to stay open at times later than these:
- Pubs: 11pm Sun-Thurs, midnight Fri-Sat
- Nightclubs: 1.00am Sun-Thurs, 2.00am Fri-Sat
- Restaurants: 11pm Sun-Thurs, midnight Fri-Sat
- Off Licences: 11pm Sun-Thurs, 11pm Fri-Sat
Clerkenwell’s Alcohol “Saturation Zone” policy starts to work, say Police
The Police confirmed that the “saturation zone” in Clerkenwell is proving successful in resisting the expansion of the licensed trade in the area. A large number of Clerkenwell residents supported my long-running campaign for this, which was successful in early 2011.
The designation requires anyone wanting to apply for new licensed premises, or extended hours for selling alcohol, in a roughly 400 metre radius of Farringdon station, (see map) to show that it won’t add to the “cumulative impact” of the familiar problems of noise and anti-social behaviour in all its forms in the area.

Map of the Clerkenwell Saturation Zone
Since its adoption, one application for a new 300-seater bar/restaurant in Charterhouse Street was thrown out and 4 others were either withdrawn or refused. Four smaller and less controversial licences have been granted, all to premises serving hot food.
Although the Farringdon area has 10% of Islington’s 1,000-plus licensed premises, it doesn’t feature in the Police list of hot-spots for alcohol-related violence.
New Alcohol Controls on the Way
The meeting also heard how Coalition legislation on late-night drinking could bring some relief to Clerkenwell residents soon.
Later this year, local authorities will be able to bring in “Early Morning Restriction Orders” (EMROs) and to impose a late-night Levy on premises selling alcohol in their areas.
EMROs allow local authorities to ban the sale of alcohol in between midnight and 6.00am, in certain areas. This is clearly a major issue for Clerkenwell as this is when most of the problem sales of alcohol take place.
Some types of premises, such as hotels, may be exempted if they only sell alcohol to people staying there – although we know this is also a problem at the two Travelodge Hotels in Kings Cross Road and adjacent off-licences, particularly in summer.
The Levy is a charge that a local authority can decide to make on all premises selling alcohol after a chosen hour – between midnight and 6.00am – in a designated area. The idea is that the money from this levy is then split between the Police and the Council, to pay for the extra policing and cleaning that alcohol sales bring about.
The Levy would be applied to all licensed premises in the designated area – that is, off-licences as well as bars and clubs, although there is scope for some exemptions such as hotels, as for the EMROs. It would be related to the rateable value.
I think Clerkenwell has much to gain from imposing a levy, and the Police seem to be in favour too. At present, bar owners pay virtually nothing towards correcting the mayhem they cause. The fee they pay for their licence doesn’t even cover the cost of administering it – and hasn’t been allowed to rise since 2004. So residents are subsidising the alcohol industry while having to live with its violent and malodorous results.
The Levy would enable off-licences and bars to reconsider their viability when they are made to pay even a fraction of the true social costs they impose on the community.
The Home Office is now consulting on how these should be introduced. See the link here. The Council will consider its views on this soon and I will be pressing it to adopt this power.
I also told the Committee meeting that I feel that action is now needed on the use of Clerkenwell’s pavements by drinkers, forcing passers-by to take their chances with traffic in the carriageway.