'Clerkenwell effect' that threatens small local shops

It is known as the Clerkenwell effect. Bars and fashionable restaurants move into the latest trendy district - but all the useful local shops are driven out by the gentrification.

Creative types started moving into Clerkenwell in the early Nineties and property dealers converted warehouses into chic loft apartments.

Today the hedonist's every whim is catered for, from a cocktail at Match bar to a night out at Fabric, one of the world's best nightclubs. But if you want a pint of milk it's a bit more of a challenge. Critics say that while the new business may be welcome, it is important to strike the correct balance with facilities for the local community, or an area can become soulless.

There are 30 bars and restaurants in less than a mile of St John Street, which runs through the heart of Clerkenwell from Smithfield Market to Angel, Islington. Most of them have opened in the last five years.

"It's definitely the in place," said Samir Bougaci, general manager of the Clerkenwell Dining Room, a new European restaurant which has attracted rave reviews. "We get all the City people eating here, in their mid-thirties to forties, spending an average of £50 to £60 per head. It has pushed property prices up tremendously as well."

But around the corner in Exmouth Market, patisseries, cocktail bars and hair salons have forced out many of the local shops. "The locals don't like it now because it has gone too upmarket for them," said Pat Clark, 59, who has run Clark's pie, mash and eel shop for 40 years. "There used to be an old knitting shop and a haberdasher, and the Woolworths went about 10 years ago. Now it's all sandwich bars and wine bars. We certainly don't need any more, and I think 24-hour drinking will cause so many problems."

At nearby Mulligan's Irish pub barmaid Pat Hayes, 58, said: "Our older customers used to have seven or eight pubs to choose from. Now there's half that. Some of them have become bars, and the London Spa, which was a really big Young's pub, is a Caribbean restaurant."

She also bemoaned the dying community spirit. "There used to be a festival every year on Exmouth Market with music, dancing and food from around the world. That stopped last year - people don't bother any more.

"The market itself used to be a thriving one with stalls. That's gone and most of the shops are bars. You used to be able to buy more or less anything. But that's progress for you."