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post-war constructivism of the Royal Festival Hall complex.
Finally, I hope this has helped clarify your thoughts on the subject, and in conclusion may I perhaps venture that we all give a resounding hallelujah for Mr Wycliffe Noble (aka Jan Senior), The Joystrings, his eldest offspring (aka Junior) and of course their fine music. Surely you must agree with me that a contemporary re-working of ‘Keep Me In Your Love’ is long overdue by one of the groups of young pretenders who have the audacity to call themselves modern
beatcombos?
Yours faithfully,
Sambuchus Nero, RFS Cert Arb, Ma (Chelsea),(Part Ret)
Dear N16
Controlled parking – as a small business, it’s a bit of an issue. At a recent meeting of local businesses everyone in the room – around 40 – had been adversely affected by the recent CPZ extension. Since then, our sales – and I know many others – have noticeably dropped. Customers have come in fuming because it has taken half an hour to find somewhere to park, they can’t park for long and we’ll be lucky if they come back. It means they spend less time and money in the area as a whole.
And yet many residents go out to work during the day (which is why we rely on customers coming in from outside the area), so the side streets stand half empty because of the resident only bays.
And don’t forget all the service businesses that now have to pay thousands of pounds to park their vehicles around the borough when out on jobs. As a business we are supposed to pay £320 a year for a basic one-zone permit, which is insane considering there are too few business permit bays and often nowhere to park. This means that prices have to go up to cover the extra costs.
It is the ripple affect of something like CPZ that ends up devastating businesses. Added to that we’ve had to swallow a rise in business rates and a general economic slowdown. Does anyone really appreciate how hard it is to run a small business in Stoke Newington at the moment? The area needed CPZ – regardless of why – but the way it has been introduced has been poorly thought out and badly implemented. Residents and businesses have been pitted against one another – and it is something we must stop. Without the independent shops and restaurants the area would not have the ‘villagey feel’ that we all know and love. And without the residents who are attracted to that we have no businesses.
The Stoke Newington Business Association is now in talks with Hackney Council to try and get changes made to the CPZ.
They are listening and have already made minor changes – like allowing customers to pay per minute in the Wilmer Place car park (behind Fresh and Wild) instead of only one, two or six hours! They are also looking to make more bays into shared use so businesses and their customers can park in the day. The Council will conduct an extensive review of the CPZ in March next year. I urge all residents and businesses to respond to any surveys and consultations (see Hackney Today) and tell the Council what you think. It is the only way we can have any hope of making the CPZ work for everyone. Unless of course you are happy to see Stoke Newington turn into another cloned High Street (already there are shops standing empty) – in that case sit back and do nothing.
Heidi Early,
Earlybird, 86 Stoke Newington Church Street
Dear N16
Long may you live. What a joy to have gone to Clapton Library and picked up your mag. I’ve never written to a mag in my life. But now I’ve some time on my hands (I’ve just become a member of the Arse Scratching Club – 50 and unemployed) and I thought I’d write to you to let you know that N16 is a mag I would recommend to my pals. I’ve lived in Hackney all my life and was born in Stokey (Lordship Road). All you hear is Murder Mile, crack houses and shootings. What a breath of fresh air N16 has brought to the Bernstein house. Keep it up and good luck for the future.
Yours, Simon Bernstein,
Bakers Hill, E5
And another letter from Canada…
Dear N16
Hello from Canada. I, too, came from Stamford Hill and went to school in Stoke Newington. I also live in the wilds, in Ontario, Canada. If I need to go to the cinema or theatre I have to travel 2 hours or more. It is better to wait until the DVD or VHS comes out.
We were lucky in the ‘50s and ‘60s to get to appreciate good theatre and good movies (films) now we have to travel to see them. You are so lucky to be in London and able to see whatever you want to. We just left to make a better life for our kids.
Best wishes from Ontario, Canada
Judy Fox, ex-pat from London,
England
Dear N16
Stoke Newington has one of the highest rates of children under five per head of population in the country, so it comes as a bit of a surprise to me that I can’t seem to hire a function room in the area that allows children to enter, or doesn’t need a re-mortgage to afford the outrageous hire fees. I will not mention by name any particular establishments on Church Street, for instance opposite the cemetery entrance, but £100 an hour seems a little steep (it’s a baby’s birthday, not an Arms Fair!).
I have now visited several pubs in the area looking for a reasonable setting for family and friends to get together and celebrate our daughter’s first birthday. On the whole, they’ve been nice rooms ideally suited except for the lack of a licence for children. Bar staff at one pub, with a very nice function room were apologetic and said they’d had to turn down several wedding receptions because they didn’t have a licence for children.
I have now heard similar stories from other licensees. My favourite story was that the function room had just been renovated and was now bedecked with expensive antique furniture, so no food, or children are being allowed. The manager was, however, very helpful, yet it did occur to me that most adults after a few pints are incredibly childlike, and red wine is a hell of a lot more difficult to remove than orange juice.
Why can’t these places get it together? With the amount of children in the area, it would seem negligent to not be able to grant access to them.
Adam Di Chiara, N16
(We checked with Abney Public Hall and were informed that their children’s parties cost £50 and not £100 per hour. Ed)
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