Protesters outside the town hall.

SOME of Islington’s most distinguished residents – including retired senior Law Lord Browne-Wilkinson – celebrated this week after winning a battle to stop a pub extending its hours.
Lord Browne-Wilkinson, Privy Councillor Sir Timothy Lloyd, Sir Eric Ash and Clare Spottiswoode CBE joined forces with neighbouring doctors, lawyers and professors to help protect their precious nights sleep.
Forty objectors employed a barrister to fight their case, successfully urging Islington Council to quash an application by The Albion pub, Thornhill Road, Barnsbury, to be allowed to open later.
Wednesday’s decision may come as a surprise after figures released by Islington Council last week revealed that out of 90 applications to date, only four have been rejected outright.
Retired senior Law Lord, Lord Browne-Wilkinson, detailed his objections in a letter saying: “The very late night drinking and music and dancing until the early morning are not facilities which this community requires and it is difficult to see why this district should bear the noise and inconvenience involved.”
He added: “The pressure on parking is such that residents of Lonsdale Square frequently have to park their own cars elsewhere.”
Former UK Gas Regulator, Clare Spottiswoode, CBE added: “If the hours were extended the relative harmony in summer would be severely compromised… If music is added to the cacophony we will have an even bigger problem.
“The noise will carry further, be louder and will not be contained by the building even in winter when doors and windows are shut.”
Throwing his weight behind the campaign, which attracted more than 80 letters of objection, Sir Eric Ash said: “The idea of a neighbourhood pub is not an abstract concept.”
Sir Eric, a Fellow of the Royal Society and of the Royal Academy of Engineering, added: “When Parliament ruled that some pubs should be allowed late night opening hours, I feel absolutely sure they did not have a neighbourhood pub in a totally residential area in mind.”
And Lord Justice of Appeal, Sir Timothy Lloyd pointed to a future of ‘banging car doors, noisy farewells and car horns’, which he said would make life ‘intolerable’.
The pub’s representative, Tom Cosgrove fought back, telling the hearing at Islington Town Hall: “The Albion does operate as a local pub. It’s not a pub that has historically suffered from crime and disorder. The police have chosen to enter no objection at all and that comes as no surprise to us.”
He added: “A good degree of the letters make it clear that there’s no real problem at present and it’s more a fear of what will occur.”
Although Mr Cosgrove offered to reduce the hours by half an hour, the concession was not enough.
Councillors at Islington Town Hall took more than an hour to come to a decision to reject the application.
Announcing the decision, councillor Stefan Kasprzyk said: “There’s no evidence to satisfy the committee that the applicant consulted with residents. We do not feel that the proposed hours are justified.”
Other objectors included Dr Marjorie Allthorpe Guyton, visual arts direc