Wood Green residents fear shisha bar's later opening will ruin 'quiet street'

Venue is seeking to open later at night by extending its licence from Haringey Council, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

Mayes Road in Wood Green and (inset) shisha being heated in a hookah (credit Alena Plotnikova via Unsplash)

A Wood Green bar’s bid to relax its licensing conditions has sparked concerns that elderly neighbours could be disturbed by noise.

The owners of District 22 in Mayes Road applied to Haringey Council to extend alcohol serving times and allow a shisha area at the back of the bar to stay open until later in the evening.

If they are successful, alcohol sales will be allowed from 11am in the morning instead of the current 4pm. Instead of closing at 10.30pm, the back shisha area would be allowed to remain open until midnight Monday to Thursday and 12.30am on Saturdays and Sundays.

The council’s licensing subcommittee refused to relax the conditions – which were imposed on the venue in 2016 – when they granted a licence to the current owners during a meeting in September. A new application to change the conditions was presented to a meeting of the subcommittee on Monday.

Four local residents objected to the latest plans, warning neighbours could be disturbed by noise from the venue. The applicant pledged to ensure noise does not cause a nuisance and said some complaints from residents related to incidents that had happened under previous owners.

Representing District 22, Bill Donne, from Silver Fox Consultants, told the meeting that the previous committee had attached “a lot of weight to representations over the previous history of the premises”, including when it had operated as a nightclub. He said this had made the current operators look irresponsible when they are not.

Bill claimed temporary events arranged under the current owners had gone “smoothly”.

A noise management plan drawn up for the premises would involve taking sound readings in sensitive areas at hourly intervals, he explained. The plan’s aims are to prevent noise becoming a “statutory nuisance” and ensure that guests leave quietly.

Bill added: “We maintain that we are not creating a nuisance in the nearest noise-sensitive residents’ properties”. Previous complaints, he claimed, were not justified, and the current owners should be “given a chance to move the business forward”.

Local residents who opposed the licence application continued to raise concerns during the meeting. Bryan Barnes said: “I think you’re trying, but we’re still hearing the noises. My mum is 84 years old. We need that to be dealt with. Our road is of an older age […] if you are going to do stuff at night, that is not the road for it.”

Bryan acknowledged that the noise from the building had “come down” but said that “should be the standard”.

Sheikh Subrattee called for internal soundproofing to be installed at the venue. “It’s very important that work gets done inside,” he said. “It is crucial. No noise would be heard and no complaints – simple as that.”

Local resident Charlie Ward said there had been no chance to review how District 22 had been operating since the last committee meeting, as the venue had been open during the “quieter winter months”. He added that in the evenings Mayes Road is currently a quiet residential street, with the only noise coming from the venue, and that the late opening of the shisha area would have an impact on elderly residents and people who have to get up early for work.

Bill Donne insisted soundproofing measures had been installed and said District 22 was “committed to not causing nuisance”. He claimed residents had “not produced evidence of an existing problem”.

The licensing subcommittee will issue its decision on the application within five working days of the meeting.

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