The Night Time Commission was set up by the Mayor to help realise his Vision for London as a 24-Hour City. The Commission has been gathering views from Londoners and from workers and organisations in the night-time economy to understand how they feel about culture, safety, transport, the environment, work and leisure between 6pm and 6am.
Over the past few months, Londoners have been taking part in a lively discussion about the city’s nightlife between 6pm and 6am.
A few things popped up in our Talk London discussion:
- while many Talk Londoners value the range of cultural and leisure activities available in London at night, others feel that too much revolves around alcohol
- while Talk Londoners generally feel safe at night, some would welcome a more visible police presence in light of recent terror and acid attacks
- many of you make use of the Night-Tube and would like to see more 24-hour public transport options, to be able to visit different parts of the city more easily
What you said
Here are a few quotes from the Talk London discussion:
“A sensible limit on opening and sales of alcohol hours is by far the most efficient and economical way to go, especially considering just how much time and money it costs the NHS to deal with late night drunks.”
“Supporting the night time economy can only benefit the long term attraction of London.”
“I came to London 40 years ago having grown up in New York and have seen a steady improvement in London's night life - and ability to get home afterwards! It always amazed me that the whole nation 'shut down' at the pub's closing time of 11pm.”
What next?
The Commission is reviewing feedback from the Talk London discussion and focus groups with a variety of Londoners, including night-time workers. To better understand how issues affect different communities, there will be a next stage of research with a representative sample of the London population.
“We are extremely grateful to all those who have taken the time to engage in this conversation about London at night. Your contributions will provide a great source of evidence for the Night Time Commission to consider in their forthcoming discussions as they work towards producing their recommendations to the Mayor”. Mark Inger, Policy and Research Officer - 24 hour London.
Based on the feedback from Londoners, data, and insight from organisations working in the night-time economy, the Night Time Commission will make recommendations to the Mayor on how to improve life in London at night for all Londoners. These will be published later this year.