Hackney Council announces first-ever nightlife strategy

Hackney Council has unveiled plans for its first-ever nightlife strategy, including improved safety, welfare and inclusivity programmes across the borough.

In an announcement shared on June 27, the council confirmed details of its Good Evening Hackney strategy, created to help promote Hackney as a nightlife destination and improve standards for local businesses in the area. 

According to the statement, Hackney is London's busiest nightlife borough, drawing more visitors after 5:PM than any other in the capital — with Saturday evenings busier than the day time. 

Read this next: Hackney pub and music venue The Gun has closed, cites rising costs

In what it describes as a "cornerstone" of its nighttime strategy, the council has already begun rolling out welfare provisions in Shoreditch, with stalls staffed by council enforcement teams offering clubbers free water, phone charging, contraception, and safety advice. 

The council also plans to offer late-night punters in the borough unique QR codes to attach to their phones, which it hopes will prevent phone thefts and allow police officers to track down stolen devices. 

To help visitors remain safe at night, the council plans to launch a Hackney Nights map, which will offer information on night transport, safer routes, public toilets, and "other important safety landmarks".

Within its Hackney Nights map plan, the new strategy will also allow venues in the borough to sign-up for accreditation, and receive staff training as well as advice on spiking prevention and noise reduction – with the aim to prevent closures and complaints in Hackney. 

Venues in Shoreditch are also set to be offered outdoor drinking and dining until midnight, after the area was granted £100,000 by the Mayor of London as part of Sadiq Khan's 'Summer Streets' fund.

Read this next: Hackney's Netil 360 acquired by NT's Loft and Night Tales owner, The Night Group

Councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE, Cabinet member for community safety and regulatory services, said:  

“This new nighttime strategy is vital in balancing these opportunities and challenges. It aims to ensure that local residents and businesses are the first to benefit from Hackney’s evening economy and that the borough stays safe, inclusive and vibrant at night.

“But it is also an acknowledgement that Hackney can’t stay at the cutting-edge by standing still. We know that how people choose to spend their time and money is changing, and we want Hackney to remain a go-to destination through that change.”

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter