The Metropolis

More food, less booze: the changing face of the West End

Mike Pollitt | Tuesday 30 October, 2012 09:52

●

“…between 2005 and 2009 there was a rise of 14 per cent in the number of restaurants, a reduction of 5.7 per cent in the number of bars, café bars and pubs, and a 16 per cent reduction in the number of nightclubs. There was also evidence of a reverse in the area’s trend of increasing crime, disorder and public nuisance.”

This was a deliberate policy by Westminster council to favour restaurants over bars in planning decisions.

So, people who’ve been eating and drinking and carousing around town for some time, I ask you this: has the character of the West End at night changed from the boozy times of yore?

From the report by GLA Economics (PDF) – Alcohol consumption in the night-time economy

Filed in:

Snipe Highlights

Some popular articles from past years

  1. Diary of the shy Londoner
  2. The five spookiest abandoned London hospitals
  3. London has chosen its mayor, but why can’t it choose its own media?
  4. A unique collection of photos of Edwardian Londoners
  5. Peter Bayley has worked for 50 years as a cinema projectionist in East Finchley
  6. Summer Camp: Roll out those lazy, hazy, crazy days
  7. Margaret Thatcher statue rejected by public
  8. Only 16 commuters touch in to Emirates Air Line, figures reveal
  9. Number of people using Thames cable car plunges
  10. Nice map of London's fruit trees shows you where to pick free food