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p6
 The Auld Shillelagh seems upset about our description of the
pub in our last issue. The Hackney Gazette claims we called the pub ‘scruffy’.
In fact, we said ‘cheerfully scruffy with lots of Guinness and good craic’.
Rather different. We have drunk in the place for years and the review was well-intentioned
and, we thought, complimentary. Sorry to the Shillelagh if we inadvertently hurt their
feelings. But the Gazette should be less selective in its use of quotations.
Buses and bicycles will be able to travel both ways on Stoke Newington
High Street if a local Labour Party campaign is successful. They say that the present
one-way system should be changed to make the bus services more frequent and quicker. More
people would cycle if they did not have to go around the one-way streets and they would be
less likely to use the pavements. What do you think?
The bad news for those caught parking illegally is that penalties in
Hackney have risen. They have been increased from £60 to £80 with a discount for early
payment of 50 per cent. Release from a clamp will cost £45 (up from £38) and liberation
of your car from the pound will be £125 (£105). Watch out.
The number of reported residential burglaries in Hackney averaged 280 per
month between July 1997 and June 1998 according to the 1998/99 Crime and Disorder Audit.
There was a total of 3375 during the year, a fall of 25 per cent since 1995. This crime is
spread evenly across the borough except for Brownswood Ward which has a much higher figure
due to the high density of bed and breakfast and hotel accommodation. The clear up rate
was only 19.6 per cent, about the same as the rest of the Metropolitan Police District.
About 93 per cent of suspected offenders are male. Whatever happened to equal
opportunities?
Clissold Leisure Centre received £11 million in lottery
grants and £2.5 million from Hackney Council. It will have two swimming pools, a sports
hall and a health suite. The Centre was chosen as one of only 12 sites to represent
Britain in the Millennium. Unfortunately, it is running 10 months behind schedule and
won’t be open until March 2000. It is also over budget and Hackney will have to make
up the difference. Hailing it as a catalyst for urban regeneration, Culture Minister Chris
Smith said that ‘it is a reflection of the UK in the 21st century.
The unsightly barriers around parts of the two lakes in Clissold Park are
there for a good reason. The Park Rangers have planted willow saplings and bullrushes to
make the water’s edge more attractive and fertile.
Shabby, rundown rented flats in Stoke Newington could be brought up to
standard if landlords participate in the Council’s Property Accreditation scheme.
Launched on 4 May at The Gallery, Edward’s Lane, this welcome initiative aims to
persuade them to sign up for a partnership deal that lays down 10 basic points for decent
accommodation. Accredited landlords then receive a Certificate of Approval from the
Council. Stoke Newington has a high proportion of multi-occupied houses let to students
and others who have moved here because they like the atmosphere. If you are one of these,
it’s worth asking your landlord to participate in this voluntary scheme.
Details from Private Sector Housing, 205 Morning Lane, London E9 6JX or ring Michelle
Adeyinka on 0181 356 4531.
 Members of Church Street’s Society of Quality Pubs
recently celebrated its launch with a party at Booth’s Café Bar. The serious purpose
of the four pubs — Steptoes, the Rose & Crown, the Tup and Booth’s — is
to guarantee high levels of service, hygiene, safety and behaviour. Chairman Alan Honeyman
is critical of the wider London Pubwatch Association which, he says, ‘has failed to
address wider issues of community safety in and around public houses’.
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