New lease of life for Camden bar where Amy Winehouse used to sing

A popular Camden music venue where Amy Winehouse performed has been given a new licence.

The former Monarch pub on Chalk Farm Road gave many bands a break and the late Back to Black star was just one of the names to play there.

However ward councillors Abdu Quaidr, Gail McAnena and Alison Kelly told Camden’s licensing committee that when the venue was still the Monarch: “Residents found it one of the most troublesome venues in the area because of the late-night noise which burst out of the front of the premises when the bands played in the window spaces as they did at least once a week. “

They said: “Noise also leaked out of the back of the premises making sleep impossible for residents in Collard Place and Harmood Street.”

The pub has now been taken over by the ZX Ventures, part of the group that owns the Budweiser Brewing Group and the Camden Brewery, with the emphasis on specialist beer – kegs are made available for customers to take home and drink.

The pub has also been renamed The Monarchy.

The company wants to use the venue as a place to market its products.

Resident Patricia Thomas from Harmood and Clarence Residents Association and a member of the Tenants and Residents Associations for Camden Town (TRACT) said: “I’ve heard panel members say Chalk Farm Road is the Wild West – actually it’s a lot worse than that.”

She said the street, which is in a cumulative impact area, has suffered a range of antisocial problems, including people urinating in the street.

She said the combination of late opening hours “makes residents’ lives very difficult”.

The proposed closure at 1.30am at weekends concerned residents, she added.

The pub also hoped to stay open until half past midnight on Mondays to Thursdays and Sundays.

Residents wanted a limit on music playing in the garden and suggested it stop at 10pm as it is quite close to homes.

The management say they also want to sell premium beers, including Goose Island, which is released annually on Good Friday and will sell for £20. Customers can try the beer in the pub on Chalk Farm Road and buy a gift set to take away.

“We totally understand the concerns of the residents in relation to music,” their lawyer Michelle Hazlewood told the committee.

“We’ve pulled back the hours, that will attract a different customer base,” she explained, distancing it from the days when the police said the venue was “problematic”.

She said the ambience had also changed with the addition of food, adding: “The premises are quite small and complex. It doesn’t lend itself to a large crowd at all.”

She went on to say that tests meant they did not believe noise would “spill out” into the street, and that managers do not want people going out on the street to drink.

The pub also has a sound reduction system, triple glazing and an improved lobby.

The application was approved on the condition that hours for supply of alcohol and late night refreshment end at 1am Friday to Saturday, and off-site sales end at 11pm.