The nighttime economy in northeast London could receive a boost from a new interactive map that aims to help people enjoy themselves and stay safe when they go out after dark.
The map covers the Hackney area and is designed by Igloo. It features lively pubs, iconic clubs, grassroots venues, and cultural spaces, all accredited by the council for safety standards and inclusive policies, and makes it easier, for example, to find places with wheelchair access and check accurate opening and closing times.
And it’s not only socialising spots that are included, but also the “hygiene factors” and transport options that help everyone have a better time when they are out on the town. The locations of toilet facilities, fresh drinking water, places to charge a phone, cycle paths, and active bus routes are among the helpful information identified.
Finding the new map itself is also facilitated by QR codes displayed at venues around the borough, and keyrings that the council is distributing. Scanning the code takes users to the digital tool, which also has a link from the council’s Hackney Nights website.
The initiative is part of Hackney Council’s “Hackney Nights” campaign, whose efforts, ongoing since 2019, include training 4,400 nightlife hospitality workers in best safeguarding practices. Over the coming year, the project will also look at how the council licenses night-time venues, reviewing planning rules and noise regulations, and putting forward a Cultural Strategy that supports the area’s night-time earners, movers, and shakers.
It’s a drive that comes in the wake of COVID-19’s impact on the hospitality sector, and as London and the United Kingdom more widely are grappling with widespread pub closures and the shutdown of some of the country’s most beloved nightclubs. Fewer people are venturing to rural pubs and restaurants, and with more and more buildings in towns and cities converted for residential use, councils are under pressure to close noisy venues down.
Hackney’s own Dance Tunnel, in Dalston, is one such victim, after its owners stated in 2016 that they could no longer continue to operate sustainably due to strict noise rules that forced the club to shut its doors by 3:00 am. Other venues, including the BBE Store, a local record shop, and the Lord Napier Star pub, are still threatened by noise complaints.
The problem has led to authorities adopting so-called “agent of change” principles, which put the onus on housing developers near pre-existing venues to adequately soundproof the new homes, rather than making long-standing venues adapt to new neighbours. The new approach has helped to save legendary venues such as London’s Ministry of Sound, and the Night and Day café in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, after bitter noise disputes and court battles over noise abatement.
The safety aspects of the Hackney Nights campaign also address public concerns over how vulnerable people might be when they have been out socialising at night, highlighted by recent tragedies such as the currently unexplained death of an 18-year-old man after a night out in Leicestershire.
