Dulwich residents slam kids charity as ‘Machiavellian’ over late nights at club house

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

Residents have accused a charity of ‘Machiavelli’ tactics after they claim it failed to properly consult them about its plan to hold late-night parties at a local club house.

Neighbours of Griffin Sports Club in Dulwich said they were not adequately informed about the London Youth Sports Trust’s intention to extend the venue’s opening hours by two hours at weekends.

Southwark council approved the charity’s application to hold events until 1.30am in the building during weekends at a meeting on Thursday.

Previously, the latest the sports clubs could open until was 11.30pm.

The charity – which aims to provide poorer kids with cheap, high-quality sports facilities – said it needed to be able to keep the club open later to make the building pay for itself.

But residents living nearby said they feared noise from the parties would be a nuisance, and claimed they haven’t been properly consulted.

Robert Hancock, whose house in Roseway in Dulwich Village backs on to the sports club, told the licensing meeting that locals hadn’t been properly informed.

Speaking against the application on behalf of residents, he said: “We had no communication at all until such time as the original proposal was put up.

“Perhaps slightly Machiavelli-ly, we found the proposal was put on the gate which was 50m from the road.”

He added: “There have been several parties with the previous leaseholders who were extremely noisy.

“With due respect, the reality of keeping the doors and windows shut on a hot summer evening doesn’t equate in my view. I don’t see how you’re going to keep people indoors on a summer evening.”

But Stephen Grey, chairman of the London Youth Sports Trust, said the extended hours were needed to support the charity.

He said: “The only purpose of having events there is to make the place pay for itself so that the buildings pay for themselves, [so] the youth sport doesn’t have to subsidise the buildings, but actually the buildings become a way of supporting the sporting activity we want to have there and the work we’re doing with young people.”

The licensing meeting heard how the charity had made several changes to address locals’ concerns about the application, including not admitting new customers after 11pm, only allowing drinks indoors and having a limit of 120 people in the venue at a time.

Southwark council will allow the venue to have a maximum of 150 people at the club house, according to restrictions outlined at the meeting.

The charity will be able to put on up to 20 events a year at weekends finishing at 1.30am. Members of the public will be banned from attending.

Pictured top: Roseway in Dulwich (Picture: Google Street View)