Next steps

I have asked Daniel Oyebanjo if I can attend the action group meeting that he refers to in his email - though I am conscious that this might not be usual practice. Equally, if anyone else is interested in attending then I am sure that Daniel would be happy if you were to get in touch.

Interesting to see the reference in Daniel's mail to Police Licensing. When the Mango's site was occupied by an equally troublesome club known as Copyright it was the Police Licensing people who finally put a stop to it. This would be an ideal solution for us but there's no point in just crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

If anyone is interested in meeting up to discuss the situation and possible next steps please send an email to penningtonnoise@yahoo.com.

Update from the council

Good to get this email from Daniel Oyebanjo at LBTH Community Safety:

Further to our last conversation regarding the above mentioned, I write to update you on the following action that has ensued.

1. A site visit was carried out to understand the location and ascertain the extent of the distress and alarm the clientele of Mango's have caused to the residents of the above mentioned.
2. Liaised with various agencies with the aim of bringing in solutions to the area. The agencies contacted were Police, SNT, Licensing (both Police & Council), Highways (in relation to parking and traffic), LET's (in relation to the rubbish, broken bottles left behind after clubbing at Mango's), Legal, Planning Department, Environmental Health & the Director of the Local Action Partnership (LAP's 3 & 4) for the Shadwell & Wapping Area.
3. I have also arranged an action group to hold a meeting next week with the aim of coming with an action plan to improve on the quality of life to the residents of the above mentioned.

Furthermore, I have also found out that residents can request for a review of the premises (that is, Mango club), which can be downloaded from the Council's website. Unfortuantely, the Licensing Authority is unable to make any representation against a premises licence or review. This would give residents the opportunity to make representation as they so wish. A number of factors will be taken into account for a representation to be valid, such as

• person(s) living in the vicinity of the premises
• a body representing persons living in the vicinity, for example, a resident association or a parish council

Should you require more information you can contact in the person of Jacqueline Randall, who works in the Licensing section. on 0207 364 5109 or email, jacqueline.randall@towerhamlets.gov.uk informing her of your disagreement to the review with reasons of course.

Kind regards

Daniel Oyebanjo

Community Safety Investigation Officer

London Borough Tower Hamlets

Community Safety Service

Anchorage House

7th Floor

2 Clove Crescent

London E14 2BG

Tel: 0207 364 3658

Email: daniel.oyebanjo@towerhamlets.gov.uk

Here we go again...

The weekend approaches. There seems to be a general sense that the level of anti-social behaviour is increasing. Please do not go out to confront the troublemakers, it is increasingly risky and they are unlikely to listen to reason. That said, if it is possible to take a photograph or make a note of car registration plates without putting yourself at risk then please do and mail them to penningtonnoise@yahoo.com. If you prefer, you can send details of any incidents and vehicle number plates to Daniel.Oyebanjo@towerhamlets.gov.uk. I have spoken to Daniel this week. He is very busy behind the scenes dealing with the various agencies that need to work together in order to resolve this problem.

I spoke to the local SNT on Wednesday and came away very reassured. The police are well aware of the mayhem that we are forced to endure and we should have no doubt that they take our calls seriously.

Regular visitors to these pages will see by the hit-counter and by the range of comments that more and more neighbours are joining in. This certainly encourages me and I sincerely hope it has the same effect on others.

Another way forward

Many thanks indeed to the contributor who left this comment:

'I contacted the council today to log a complaint about the noise. They said that in order to do anything they have to record and witness the disturbance themselves. There is a phone number that is available 24hours on a weekend where once called someone will come out within 1 hour to assess the situation and make a record of the offence. It is 0207 364 7070 and they said the more they are called and the more they witness the more they can do for us. '

Calling Telford’s Yard

Is anyone reading this from Telford’s Yard? It would be useful to have a contact in Telford’s Yard who would be willing to distribute flyers to the south-facing flats most likely to be suffering from the noise and anti-social behaviour problem.

Contact penningtonnoise@yahoo.com

Someone is interested in helping us.

Excellent email this morning from Councillor Emma Jones. I had asked for advice on the most effective way of reporting the problems we have at weekends.

‘It is a good idea for residents to report to the Safer Neighbourhood Team and anti-social behaviour unit of the Council. The Safer Neighbourhood Team's email is StKatharines.Wapping.SNT@met.police.uk

and their numbers are 020 8721 2854 and 07887 821816.

The ASB unit can be contacted on 0800 917 5918 or you can report using this online form https://webforms.towerhamlets.gov.uk/AF3/an/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=Cd8QMulALNE.

The unit can also be written to at the Town Hall, Mulberry Place (AH), PO Box 55739, 5, Clove Crescent, London, UK, E14 2BG.

The priority areas with most police patrols and funding depend partly upon reports to the SNT and ASB unit, so it is a good idea for residents to do this. I am on the police priority setting panel and so I let them know what residents tell me too.’

There you have it: to influence police patrols and priorities we need to contact the SNT and ASB unit. It's great to know that a councillor who is aware of our problems sits on the police priority setting panel.

Mango's - Pennington Street - 4 Oct - 03:00

Some excellent photographic evidence here from a local resident and blog contributor who adds -

'I thought it pertinent to mention that the "member of staff employed some distance from the premises to encourage the exiting patrons to leave the area quickly and quietly" was nowhere to be seen during these photographs. Nor were they around in the two hours following the police's departure, quite surprising given the events that had just occurred. During those two hours patrons were back to their usual singing, dancing, screaming, smashing glass and playing their car stereos loudly.'

Letter from LBTH Environmental Health

I am grateful to Councillor Emma Jones for forwarding a complaint on to the department of Environmental Health at LBTH. This morning, Saturday 4 October, I received a copy of a letter to Councillor Jones from Clive Shipman, Assistant Head of Service at, LBTH Communities Localities & Culture.


If, like me, you did not get back to sleep until about 04:30 this morning I would strongly advise a few deep breaths before you approach the letter; 'Mango's Nightclub...have a member of staff employed some distance from the premises to encourage the exiting patrons to leave the area quickly and quietly. This is more than we could require of the management and shows willingness on their part to address the problem.'

Funnily enough, I am also willing to address the problem.

If anyone has any difficulty in clicking through to the scans contact penningtonnoise@yahoo.com. and I'll send the images directly.

Saturday 4 October, 03:30 am

Traditional folk dancing in Pennington Street.

Strangely, there is no sign of, ' a member of (Mango's) staff employed some distance from the premises to encourage the exiting patrons to leave the area quickly and quietly'.



If anyone got any number plates please send them through to penningtonnoise@yahoo.com.

Evidence

The weekend approaches. If anyone sees any nonsense going on and if it is possible to take a photograph without putting yourself at risk then please do.

A lot of the disturbance seems to take place around cars. Car number plates, and if possible, the make and model of the vehicle could be very useful in the fight against this harassment. The Council's Community Safety department has asked for any number plates so that they can track the vehicle owners.

As always, try to call the police if you are disturbed by noise. Calls to the police help to build up a record of the problem.

Photographs of the litter and debris on mornings after club nights would also be very helpful.

Any digital images or car details can be sent in confidence to penningtonnoise@yahoo.com. Alternatively, you can send a brief description of the incident and the vehicle number plate to Daniel.Oyebanjo@towerhamlets.gov.uk.

If the harassment continues and if reasonable efforts to solve the problem by other means fail, then a challenge to Mango’s license will be the next course of action. All of the evidence accumulated on here will then strengthen the case against Mango’s.

History – Copyright

Some of the more recent arrivals to the Pennington Street area may not be aware that the previous club on Mango’s site was also the cause of considerable nuisance to residents. Clients of ‘Copyright’, as it was then known, would tend to congregate around Breezers Court :

‘The noise is worst by Breezers Court because they congregate up at this end of the road. They move their cars from outside the club up to this end of the road...Additionally violence or arguments seem to kick off around Breezers Hill – and there is a lot of shouting, screams etc. ...but the club should be taking precautions to ensure the crowd is managed effectively. There was a serious assault outside Telford ’s Yard a couple of months back, which involved clubbers too.’

Sound familiar? This is taken from an email from a local resident dated September 2006. I am very grateful to my neighbours for taking the time to pass on this and other relevant emails. The Mango’s site has been a cause of complaint for some time.