The local residents who are subjected to Walkabout's, er, contribution to the community are organising against them and will be there as well on Wednesday. So all the ingredients for a fiery exchange, then.
The local media has only ever reported this story by quoting Walkabout and not local residents, so just to try and even things up here's the voice of the Bush starting with one group of Bush residents, the Macfarlane Residents Association, who are implacably opposed with Chairwoman Vivienne James saying:
"Alcohol has long been a problem in the area and any plan that involves extending the period of consumption in this neck of the woods is wholly and totally opposed on the grounds of noise and disturbance, residents’ safety and the possible corollary of other premises seeking to extend their hours as well."H&F Council would do well to listen.
UPDATE - Thankfully they did - the application was thrown out.
The walkabout is undeniably shit, but I really don't see why they shouldn't have a late license. In fact if establishments were actually allowed to just stay open without having to apply for late licenses, then people who want to enjoy a late beer out with friends responsibly wouldn't have to cram into these 'fun pubs' after 11pm and we might all start to embrace the so called 'continental drinking culture' so heralded by the (not actually implemented) 24 hour drinking law so opposed by the Tories and the Daily Mail (and I'm sure Vivienne James too).
ReplyDeleteKeeping a limit on opening hours only encourages people to rush-drink before last orders before getting kicked out on the street to cause upset to local residents. I'd rather have drinkers kept inside drinking slower and later then kicked outside having guzzled down their pints too fast and vomiting everywhere. I would also welcome a 'possible corollary' of other places applying for later licenses for that exact reason - not feeling like I've got to down my last beer by 11.20pm and having to seek out the only other place to get a drink which is most likely to be a ghastly theme bar like Walkabout.
But hey let's keep things as they are. I'm sure the Macfarlane Residents Association will see to it that this application is turned down wishfully hoping that it will solve all the alcohol problems in the area. For those of us that just want a late beer in peace I suppose there's always the option of drinking on the green eh?
Living on Shepherds Bush Road overlooking the road, I see & hear everything - & I mean everything from drug deals going down, fights, crashes, and sometimes nice things too! But the noise & chaos is hard to ignore and the constant sirens difficult to block out. I really resent the sarcastic comments from those who enjoy their "quiet" drink of alcohol. I never hear or see quiet drinkers falling out of the Walkabout though. Around Bush it is pretty difficult to block out the very noisy drinkers late at night, early afternoon, early morning, or in fact anytime. It is more difficult to pretend the urinating, vomiting and anti-social behaviour does not exist. When its happening on your own private property it is upsetting, unacceptable and is called trespassing. Anti-social behaviour is just that.
ReplyDeleteYour first line says it! There are many other places to have a late beer in the Bush without frequenting the Walkabout and if it is peace you want, you will understand what it is that residents are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI resent the implication that Macfarlane Road Residents are all Tory readers of the Daily Mail. You know nothing about us. Residents have some rights to peace and freedom from noise and disturbance, including having your car jumped on in the night, stoving in the roof, and urinating in front of your kids.
Macfarlane Road Residents Association is far from the only organisation in the ward that objects to Walkabout extending its hours but has healthy regard for other Boozers in the area who foster a responsible business ethic.
I am merely representing the views of residents who tire of being woken at 3am by drunks coming out of the Bar FM etc and so oppose further licenses which would allow an increase in early hours operations.
People out at night are often noisy and inconsiderate, even if not fuelled by alcohol and we simply wish to keep life tolerable. The continental drinking culture has been proved not to work in the UK.
"I'm sure the Macfarlane Residents Association will see to it that this application is turned down wishfully hoping that it will solve all the alcohol problems in the area"
Condescending?? I don't think we are quite that naive but at least we aim to maintain what is good about the Bush. After all most of us hwo engage in local affairs have lived here for decades, because we like it.
signed
Vivienne James
The Walkalbout is not providing any benefit to the area, it's merely one outlet in a corporate chain whose USP is piling it high, selling it cheap and fostering a drunken party atmosphere at whatever cost to the area. Probably the reason they want to extend their hours is that they have a better chance on pulling in punters once everywhere else has closed! it's known as a pretty cheesy sort of a bar after all. Basically there's just no benefit or reason to extend the hours purely for Walkabout to make more money when the impact and cost to the locale would be so disproportionate, i.e. noise and disturbance to residents and other commercial establishments, extra calls on police, services etc. I don't think most people in the area object to bars and restaurants and music venues operating responsibly, many of us make use of the other establishments and most of us positively appreciate that we're living in a lively convenient urban location rather than leafy suburban part of the Borough - however, there's a limit to what people can bear and ordinary life should not be squeezed out of an area just to make a few extra bucks for a corporate entity with poor operating standards and unashamed encouragement of high alcohol consumption. Please note that H&F generally has the highest levels of alcohol abuse in the whole of London! Way to go...
ReplyDeleteThe Walkabout is not a net benefit to the area.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to see the alcohol license for the place being refused when renewal time comes round.
As a user of the Walkabout in Shepherds Bush, I find the general opinion from those who gaze upon it with disdain rather amusing.
ReplyDeleteEvery single bar in Shepherds Bush has the same problem and yet you seem to wish to pick on the big bar, notwithstanding that they do NOT sell cheap alcohol (same price as other bars) and have a very strict door policy.
Wetherspoons prides itself on cheap plentiful liquor while Walkabout adheres to the strict regulations that most other responsible pubs follow and from discussions with the manager there I see they take very seriously their obligations with dealing with emergencies and inebriated customers very quickly - and not deliberately releasing them into the night to make trouble.
Before you start pointing fingers at the Walkabout, perhaps look a little closer at places like White Horse, Wetherspoons, The 02 Empire, O'Neils, Bar FM, The Green and Raving Buddha who also have some rather loud, abusive and troublemaking clientale - but seem to get away with it for some reason or another.
This extension of operating hours is not in the interests of the Borough or its residents. It is in the interests of the applicants alone. Residents already suffer nuisance, noise and disturbance from the activities and behaviour of the Walkabout’s clientele. The gatherings outside the premises late at night when the inebriated clientele wait for mini-cabs or late night buses threaten the safety of residents walking home and attract drug dealers and thieves to the area. Drunken youths urinate publicly in Rockwood Place and on the Green.
ReplyDeleteWhile these problems continue unresolved, the Council should not grant permision for any extension of opening hours, particularly while it is considering the creation of a “Saturation Zone” in this area. Although Shepherds Bush is a venue for entertainment, residential uses cover a much larger area and the balance should be altered so that residents are protected.
LBHF have turned down Walkabout's application for extended hours tonight - unanimously!
ReplyDeleteViv