This project expands Arcola’s portfolio of work in the Evening and Night Time Economy (ENTE) area. Arcola Research, in collaboration with Dr Phil Hadfield, have been commissioned by Shaftesbury to support their response to Camden Council’s public consultation on its review of Licensing Policy and Cumulative Impact Assessment. Drawing on previous work for The Crown Estate we looked at the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and how this has influenced the methodological approach adopted by Camden in making their assessments and designing their proposed licensing policies. We considered how the pandemic has impacted on the Evening and Night-time Economy (ENTE) of Central London and the ‘Seven Dials’ area specifically and show how the area has fared worse, economically, than other parts of the UK. 

The research methodology applied combines documentation analysis – covering a ‘rapid evidence assessment’ (RAE) and policy review; statistical analysis of the quantity, quality and core functionality of evening and night-time economy venues across Shaftesbury’s estate, together with analysis of consumer patterns in the estate and adjacent location, and primary data collection, including observational analysis of behaviour within the estate together with an audit of premises within the area with an assessment of their core trading ‘functions’ and the observed demographics of their patrons.