Chris Townsend at Map

TO regulars, it is more than a cafe – it’s a cultural hub of music and fashion and a picture of everything that’s cool about Kentish Town.

But now Map, a cafe, music studio and perfor­mance space which has operated in Grafton Road for nearly 40 years, is facing an uncertain future after Camden Council told its owners that it must apply for planning permission if it wants to stay open after 8pm.

Chris Townsend, who runs Map (which stands for Music Art Printing) said that a household who recently moved in have made complaints about being disturbed late into the evening.

Supporters including author and journalist Decca Aitkenhead have written to the Town Hall asking for consent to be granted.

“I moved in right next door in 2016 with my two sons, aged five and six.” she said.

“It was honestly the single best thing about that house. There was sometimes a bit of music and chat from the roof terrace at the weekends and that was a completely negligible price to pay for the amazing benefits of being a part of this community hub.”

She added: “Chris has such a sense of community and it felt like we had this whole community as an extension of our house.”

Ms Aitkenhead said she remains a visitor to Map, adding: “It is an oasis of anti-commercialisation in a London that is increasingly becoming ‘bankerland’. There are too few places like Map left and the council should be issuing a protective order. It is incredibly hard to run a place like Map in this economy and it is even harder when people move into the area and then decide they want to shut it down.”

Ms Aitkenhead, who works for The Times, recently called on Map for help to provide a quiet space to interview Yulia Borisovna Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexis Navalny.

She said: “Chris made a private room available at no charge. That is the kind of proprietor he is and the kind of proprietor we want in Camden.”

After graduating from Kingsway Adult Education College – where he studied with Johnny Rotten, Sid Vicious, Jah Wobble and Timothy Spall – Mr Townsend worked with radical printers Fifth Column and went on to found Map, a streetwear firm that went global.

He sold his stake to the supermodel Elle MacPherson in 2005.

By then the Map studios were a cultural hub.

He said: “We became not just a place for musicians and artists, but for everyone.”

Mr Townsend applied for a licence in 2012 to serve alcohol within framework hours.

At the same time, he was granted a music licence.

But one set of neigh­bours has complained 42 times in 12 months – prompting officers to say he must now get planning permission to match other licences.

“We value independent live music venues. However, our experience living next to MAP leaves us concerned that mitiga­tions listed are insufficient to counter the harm caused,” said an objection filed at the Town Hall.

The objection added: “We have even offered to share the cost of sound­proofing and help with any manual labour. All offers have been ignored and improvements promised have never materialised.”

They added that music meant they struggled to “find somewhere to com­fortably eat dinner, watch TV, relax and sleep”.

In response, Mr Townsend said he has stuck to his licence and has decibel monitors in house.

“If we are not granted the permission, it will be the end from Map,” he said.