Kate Calvert, co-founder of Better Archway Forum

RESIDENTS in Archway have said the proliferation of off-licences will increase anti-social behaviour and public nuisance in the area.

A licensing application is being considered by the council for a new off-licence in Holloway Road, called Archway Local, to sell alcohol between 8am and 11pm each day, despite previous cam­paigns to limit access to alcohol in the area. The council is currently con­sulting with neigh­bouring businesses and residents.

Archway was made a designated “Cumulative Impact Area” (CIA), or alcohol saturation zone, by Islington Council after it was identified to have the highest density of shops selling alcohol within the borough.

Kate Calvert, co-founder and chair of the Better Archway Forum, told the Tribune that a relaxation of licensing laws under New Labour in 2003 led to a “tsunami” of applications for late-night off-licences in the area.

CIA zones give the council more powers to restrict planning applications for shops serving alcohol and give the police power to stop people drinking alcohol in public in the area.

A council licensing review dating from 2022 recognised the need to continue Archway’s status as a CIA for another five years, stating that the “impact that widely available alcohol is having” on local residents was continuing to cause significant concern.

Those who live in the surrounding area say there is “simply no need” for another shop that serves cheap alcohol late at night, and that the council should be going further to prevent them from proliferating in the area.

Alex Curtis, who has lived in Archway since 2006, said there are already eight shops within a 650-metre stretch of Holloway Road that make cheap alcohol readily available. She said that adding another would bring no benefit to the community and only increase the issues residents are experiencing with anti-social behaviour.

Ms Curtis said: “There are very frequent call-outs to the police and ambulance services because of ASB and crime in the area that is associated with heavy drinking. We know that this area of London is already particularly affected by people being intoxicated – we have vandalism, rowdiness, vomiting and littering, as well as intimidation and people fighting in the street.

“Aside from that, this is a residential area where there are a lot of vulnerable people who will not benefit from such access to alcohol, and although we’re supposed to already be a CIA, we can’t seem to get on top of these issues.

“Therefore I’m surprised the council are even considering another alcohol shop in the area despite us being a saturation zone. I believe they should just instantly reject applications from new off-licence shops.

“It would be nice to see some diversity to businesses on the high street rather than just having shops that sell alcohol. Why can’t we have more cafés or restaurants that bring a genuine benefit to the community rather than just another shop selling booze?”

Ms Calvert said some of the forum’s members were concerned by the social effects of late-night off-licences in the area, meaning that they felt unsafe walking home from the station.

She said: “Generally, our members have no issue with “on-licence” venues like pubs or restaurants that serve food and genuinely bring something to the com­munity, as long as they’re not disturbing people.

“But in terms of late-night off-licences, there is already enough, they are problematic. Having access to alcohol late at night means people just carry on drinking through the night, and that brings fights, shouting or people having domestics in the street.”

An Islington Council spokesperson said: “This application is currently out for public consulta­tion, and residents can send in their views until May 14 as long as they relate to the licensing objectives.

“As it’s still being considered, the council can’t comment on the application itself. All representations received by the deadline will be reviewed and passed to the Licensing Sub Committee, who will make the final decision.”