Boxpark Shoreditch booze row: ‘Mornings look like the apocalypse swept through’ say neighbours
Boxpark in Shoreditch - Credit: Archant
Neighbours have slammed Shoreditch popup hub Boxpark as “a cancer” due to the rising number of bars – and say mornings look like “the apocalypse swept through”.
Fed-up families living near “the world’s first popup mall” in Bethnal Green Road said the top floor of the venue was “out of control”, with “virtually every unit” applying for alcohol licences.
Boxpark has been lapped up by Shoreditch’s hipsters since opening five years ago and this week saw the long-awaited launch of its second venue in Croydon.
But the news that fast-food joint Chicken Box wants permission to sell booze until 11pm has proved to be the last straw for dozens of people in the area.
In a report ahead of a town hall meeting tonight, one neighbour said: “Evenings are effectively becoming a no-go zone, particularly with children as they’re exposed to the worst behaviour imaginable.
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“Mornings look like the apocalypse swept through, with unreal amounts of rubbish, vomit, glass and defecation.”
They continued: “Shoreditch is saturated with premises serving alcohol. Boxpark has caused a severe nuisance for the neighbourhood, with loud music and revellers becoming a cancer that residents can’t escape.
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“A number of long-term residents have left the immediate vicinity of Boxpark as they simply can’t take it anymore.
“The net result of this policy is noise and general mayhem, all for the benefit of a few at a cost to many.
“Yet more hours in Boxpark means there is no way for children to be brought in without running a gauntlet of this and the many, many other bars, a prospect no parent relishes.”
The plans for Chicken Box have been opposed by the town hall’s environmental protection team, while the licensing team and the Met have both raised concerns about anti-social behaviour.
Boxpark have not yet responded to the Gazette’s request for comment.
