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| Pub neighbour’s rowdy fans
fears |
Bar near stadium allowed to stay
open later
Dr Claire Finburgh outside the pub |
ROWDY football fans could make life hell for residents when the
new Arsenal Emirates Stadium opens next year, a university lecturer
warned this week.
Dr Claire Finburgh spoke out against an application by one of Britain’s
biggest pub chains, JD Wetherspoon, to extend drinking hours at
the Coronet in Holloway Road.
The cinema-turned-pub, within walking distance of the new 63,000-
seat stadium, was given permission to stay open until 12.30am from
Sunday to Thursday – an hour later than now – and until
1am at the weekend – an extra 90 minutes – under the government’s
new liberal licensing laws. In addition, it will now open at 9am.
At a licensing hearing at the Town Hall on Wednesday objectors pointed
out that, while the front of the pub is on Holloway Road, its beer
garden extends around the corner into residential Loraine Road.
Dr Finburgh, who teaches literature at Essex University, said, apart
from occasional noise from the beer garden, the Coronet was relatively
quiet but feared things could change with the opening of the new
Ashburton Grove stadium.
She said: “It is one of the nearest pubs to the ground and
inevitably will be filled with either home or away football supporters
each week.
“If the licensing hours are extended to 1am on Saturday, there
will be serious disturbances in and around the Coronet. In addition,
if the pub is open from 9am, many supporters will be encouraged
to go for a drink before the match, and will have been drinking
for three to five hours before the match starts.”
Another resident, Christina Rapacid, said there was already a problem
after 11.30pm with people who she believed were pub customers hanging
around “singing, shouting and making a nuisance if themselves”.
Officers from Islington council, while not objecting to the extended
hours, pointed out that there was one incident in March this year
when police and Trading Standards officers carried out a routine
under-age alcohol test on the pub.
A child of 14 was sold a Smirnoff vodka and ice. As a result Wetherspoon
was fined and the member of staff who sold the drink reprimanded
and sent for re-training.
Nathan Wall, operations director for Wetherspoon, said the company’s
650 pubs included premises at Old Trafford, opposite the Manchester
United stadium, and close to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
He added: “We do know how to handle big crowds and will always
make special arrangements with the police over opening hours so
that disturbances are kept to a minimum. Our staff are trained to
make sure drinkers behave.
“But the Coronet is not a high-octane music pub. There is no
music. It’s quiet and a place to talk. We don’t get many
troublemakers.
“The young tend to come early and go on to other establishments
where there is music. It is an older age group who remain until
late.”
The committee approved the change in drinking hours but urged the
pub to liaise with residents, particularly on match days, and to
provide notices asking customers to keep the noise down when they
leave. |
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