The alternative cancel culture: from pubs to cricket pitches
Nimbys (not in my back yard) have been a feature of British life for a while. Typically they are people that move into an area and then complain about an aspect of it that was there before they arrived, but which they don’t like.
Pubs and noise from them are a frequent target. A recent case involved the Compton Arms pub which is in a mews just off the busy Upper St in Islington North London. Some neighbours tried to get the pub’s licence revoked because the noise was annoying them. It was unclear whether those that complained had recently acquired a premises in the vicinity or had simply got used to the pub being mainly shut during the pandemic years. Islington Council agreed some new restrictions which the pub could live with and hopefully all is well that ends well.
A current case is that of a cricket club Colehill near Wimborne. A neighbour of the club’s ground who owns a £1.5m home had complained that cricket balls were landing in their premises. The club initially thought that they would have no alternative but to stop playing. However a community fund raising effort looks set to provide funds for netting to stop cricket balls from straying.
A cancel culture frame of mind is at work but its interesting to see that in both cases a wider community effort saved things which were and are valued by the many rather than the few.
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