North Eight's licence revoked by councillors

The Hornsey bar has been subject to intense scrutiny over the number of police incidents there in recent months, reports Grace Howarth, Local Democracy Reporter

A bar in Hornsey has lost its premises license after police were called to the premises 77 times over 15 months.

Haringey Council held a licensing committee meeting last week when the North Eight pub, formerly called Hornsey Arms, had its licence revoked. The decision made by the committee was only published this week, however.

In July a hearing was adjourned to allow more time to further investigate evidence submitted by the Metropolitan Police. At the second meeting on Tuesday, 5th August the police told the committee about a number of incidents at the venue, including customer fights involving up to 70 people and under-age drinking.

The council’s noise and nuisance team said issues spanned back as far as 2022, when a previous review was held, resulting in conditions being added to the licence.

However, in 2024 the noise team issued the pub an abatement notice, a legal document that requires the recipient to stop or limit a statutory nuisance. The same year the team issued a fixed penalty notice and then a second one in 2025.

In their representation, the Met Police said the premises was ranked eighth in the borough for “reported incidents of violent crimes in the last twelve months”, which committee members noted was significant as Haringey hosts multiple major venues.

The police said a “significant number” of calls came from Verisure, the company providing the pub’s panic alarm button, from bar staff and door supervisors. On one occasion a dog unit had to be called to the premises which the police described as “extremely rare”.

The police concluded that bar staff had “lost control” of the premises and were “calling police to help manage” the situation.

David Dadds, a licensing consultant representing North Eight, walked out of the second committee meeting after claiming a number of the calls made to police were “malicious”.

Of the 77 calls made between May 2024 and August 2025 the number made by the alarm company, bar staff, or door supervisors was calculated to be between 34 and 38, representing almost half.

Calls from other sources comprised mainly residents, and the council noted that many had identified themselves which meant they were “less likely to be malicious”.

Representations were heard at the meetings from ward councillor Adam Small as well as residents who suggested revocation as the only suitable action.

In its decision notice the committee concluded the “current operation of the licence undermined” all four licensing objectives; prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance and protection of children from harm.

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