Hackney Council unveils strategy to create “safer, more inclusive” nightlife 

Hackney Council has revealed its first-of-a-kind nighttime strategy to foster a “safer, more inclusive” nightlife scene. 

The Good Evening Hackney strategy includes nighttime guide maps, anti-phone theft tools, training for nightlife venue staff, free welfare stations to provide water, contraception and other health and safety provisions and more, according to the council’s 27th June announcement. 

The “Hackney Nights” map will indicate nighttime public transportation, safe routes, public toilets, venues that receive accreditation by receiving thorough safety training, including drink-spiking prevention, and other helpful information for residents and visitors.

Another new initiative will allow people to get their phones tagged with a QR code to track and deter phone theft, and the welfare stations are offering security bands to keep phones attached in case someone attempts to lift a phone off a person. 

“I am proud of Hackney’s vibrant evening and night economy, which has created huge benefits for Hackney — new jobs, more investment, a better range of leisure opportunities for residents, and continually thriving high streets despite a changing economy”, councillor Susan Fajana-Thomas OBE said in a press statement. “It has also brought challenges, including managing the impact of nighttime activities on the needs of residents, and keeping venues and public spaces safe from crime and antisocial behaviour. 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.”

The strategy comes as the borough has received a £100,000 grant from the London Mayor’s Office as part of the Summer Streets Fund to encourage outdoor dining and drinking until midnight. 

Good Evening Hackney marks a positive shift towards encouraging nightlife in the wake of 2018’s restrictive change to licencing laws for new businesses in the borough. Venue’s like EartH Hackney have been able to apply for late licences in the years since.  

The free welfare stations have already been implemented in Shoreditch. Watch a clip of the Hackney Nights welfare team on the ground via Instagram.

Earlier this year,  Mayor Sadiq Khan launched the London Nightlife Taskforce, an 11-person group that hopes to tackle the “huge range of challenges” currently faced by the capital’s nightlife industry. The group launched a survey in May to gather public perspectives and experiences on questions such as, “What’s working? What’s not? What does the future of London after dark look like to you?”