Scores of residents are objecting to the chain’s alcohol licence bid, with some arguing it will worsen anti-social behaviour and attract homeless people from a nearby shelter to their front door
A new Aldi is set to open its doors in East London but scores of residents fear it could stoke anti-social behaviour in the area. In October, Hackney Council granted planning permission for the German budget grocery chain to open a second store in the borough alongside its existing Dalston branch.
But on Monday (December 1) the retailer was confronted by locals incensed by its bid to take over commercial space beneath their block of flats on Hackney Road in Hoxton – and dead-set on stopping the firm from obtaining an alcohol licence.
Resident Darina Van Barthold said her family was “extremely worried” about people being able to buy booze late at night and make “public nuisance and noise”, which would travel directly up to bedrooms of flats where many families with “very young children” were living, including her and her infant child.
“This is not your typical high-street site,” she said. “A large source of alcohol from this precise point will just draw people from the homeless shelter opposite, and from nearby streets, literally to our doorway.” She added that other shops on this road had “constant run-ins with the homeless and drug addicts”.
Having already submitted a letter of objection signed by over 40 other people, including local businesses, Darina’s concerns were echoed at the hearing. Laura Schaefer said she was struggling to put her two-year-old toddler to bed amid the noise from “loitering and public drinking”, and agreed that the nearby homeless shelter had caused a “big issue” in terms of anti-social behaviour.
The Metropolitan Police withdrew their initial objections to the licence bid after agreeing with the chain that no alcohol would be sold after 11pm on any day.
Aldi’s representatives said the store would have staff patrolling to stop littering and security placed on site throughout trading hours. But resident Oliver Trotman suggested this could “just result in these people being ejected onto the street where it is then the resident’s problem in the community [and] the wider community’s problem”.
On behalf of Aldi, Lisa Gilligan said the retailer would be “responsible” and had an “unblemished enforcement record”. The company’s lawyer added that another solution to limit anti-social behaviour from drinking would be for the shop to only selling drinks with 6.5% ABV or below – as other Aldi supermarkets have done.
Hackney Council’s licensing committee also suggested providing a contact detail for local residents to speak to Aldi’s area and duty manager about any concerns. However, many residents left the meeting still feeling the changes had not put them at ease.
The council is expected to make its decision on the licence within five working days from the hearing date.
Keep up with the latest East London news. Sign up to our MyEastLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.
