Hackney Council has postponed its consultation on controversial plans to clamp down on new bars, clubs and night venues in the area after a ‘minor error’ was noticed in the policy draft.

The plans tabled by the council would have made it more difficult for new night venues to open in the area with the council seeking to appease complaining residents who claimed that clubs and bars in certain areas were leading to excessive noise, litter and bad behaviour in the streets. Hackney Council were suggesting that new venues would have to meet strict curfews of midnight for clubs, though had stressed that each license application would be considered on a case-by-case basis.

As Dalstonist reports, the council today issued a statement saying that the consolation, which was to end this week, would be postponed until next year owing to an error in a part of the consultation document that was unrelated to the planned club restrictions. It will now revert to its existing licensing policy which was due to expire in January 2016. The new consultation next year is expected to involve a “high profile public debate” on the importance of the night-time economy on the area.

The plans were met with widespread outrage and accusations that the council were not taking the night-time economy’s role in the borough seriously with a campaign, called We Love Hackney, promptly launched to challenge the council. You can read the full statement on the consultation cancellation here.