Londoners are not strangers to stopping off at their favourite chicken shop after a night out, but these spaces could now offer more than chicken wings and a strawberry Mirinda.
Two of London’s iconic Morley’s chicken branches have become safe spaces for people to wait for their trip home after a night out.
Morley’s have paired up with Strut Safe, a volunteer-run helpline, which aims to ensure people feel safe getting home late at night.
Morley’s have made their Stockwell and Dalston branches ‘Strut Stops’. Strut Safe say they hope they are the start of a greater effort to create non-judgmental safe spaces in late night London.
‘Over 90% of people feel safer waiting inside a food outlet’
Strut Safe carried out their own community research and found that “77% of people feel unsafe walking home alone at night, 94% have changed or cancelled plans due to safety fears, and over 90% would feel more comfortable waiting inside a food outlet than on the street.”
Morley’s Stockwell. Source: Eva Clark
A discreet signal of safety
Caragh Campbell from Strut Safe says t
his could be an informal solution to a more serious issue as there is “no pressure for anybody to buy anything or interact with staff”. She says, “people can just kind of go in, have that bit of safety and in someplace well lit and populated where they can wait.”
This weekend I headed to the the Stockwell branch. The seating area is minimal in this branch, by comparison to the Dalston one, and the main people coming in and out were delivery drivers. The customers that did come in seemed unaware of this new function to the chicken shop.
Source: Eva Clark
Being there myself, I liked the way the vinyl stickers discreetly indicated that it was a safe space to wait. I think this would be an initiative I would use if I passed by on my way home, as it removes the awkwardness of waiting inside somewhere, with no need to speak to staff.
Caragh says “I don’t know if anyone’s actually used it yet” as it’s still a new concept.
Morley’s community collaborations
Morley’s are not shy of a collaboration, having previously partnered up with Heinz, Gymbox and Spotify, but also are known to be active in community initiatives.
Back in 2019 the chicken shop took part in an anti-knife crime campaign with the home office, distributing food boxes branded #knifefree across England and Wales.
Source: gov.uk
Its understandable then that Strut Safe would want to partner up with a brand like theirs, Caragh says that strut safe’s PR team “approached Morley’s because it’s iconic and we thought London would be a great place to start.”
The group hope that other late night food stops might follow suit, “we would love to call on any more, not just in London but UK wide, all they would need to do is just display the vinyl sticker and just be okay with people coming in and waiting and not necessarily interacting or buying anything.”
Strut Safe Sticker, Source: Eva Clark
Londoners call for greater late night safety
The Mayor’s Nightlife Taskforce recently received complaints about London’s transport in relation to late night safety, with nearly a third saying they wanted to see improvements and 30% of women feeling unsafe using public transport.
This is understandably influencing Londoner’s choices to go out on the weekends. Research carried out by taxi booking app Freenow found that “67% of Londoners have left a night out early to avoid travelling home in the dark, and 41% say safety in the city has worsened over time”. They say that the issue of safety is crucial in keeping the night time economy alive.
So this issue is much broader than just waiting to get home, however, independent initiatives like Morley’s ‘Strut Stops’ could mobilise the change that Londoners want to see.
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Headline3 wings, chips, and a safe space to wait for my Uber
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StandfirstLondon's favourite chicken shop that's trying to make nightlife safer.
Londoners are not strangers to stopping off at their favourite chicken shop after a night out, but these spaces could now offer more than chicken wings and a strawberry Mirinda.
Two of London’s iconic Morley’s chicken branches have become safe spaces for people to wait for their trip home after a night out.
Morley’s have paired up with Strut Safe, a volunteer-run helpline, which aims to ensure people feel safe getting home late at night.
Morley’s have made their Stockwell and Dalston branches ‘Strut Stops’. Strut Safe say they hope they are the start of a greater effort to create non-judgmental safe spaces in late night London.
‘Over 90% of people feel safer waiting inside a food outlet’
Strut Safe carried out their own community research and found that “77% of people feel unsafe walking home alone at night, 94% have changed or cancelled plans due to safety fears, and over 90% would feel more comfortable waiting inside a food outlet than on the street.”
Morley’s Stockwell. Source: Eva Clark
A discreet signal of safety
Caragh Campbell from Strut Safe says t
his could be an informal solution to a more serious issue as there is “no pressure for anybody to buy anything or interact with staff”. She says, “people can just kind of go in, have that bit of safety and in someplace well lit and populated where they can wait.”
This weekend I headed to the the Stockwell branch. The seating area is minimal in this branch, by comparison to the Dalston one, and the main people coming in and out were delivery drivers. The customers that did come in seemed unaware of this new function to the chicken shop.
Source: Eva Clark
Being there myself, I liked the way the vinyl stickers discreetly indicated that it was a safe space to wait. I think this would be an initiative I would use if I passed by on my way home, as it removes the awkwardness of waiting inside somewhere, with no need to speak to staff.
Caragh says “I don’t know if anyone’s actually used it yet” as it’s still a new concept.
Morley’s community collaborations
Morley’s are not shy of a collaboration, having previously partnered up with Heinz, Gymbox and Spotify, but also are known to be active in community initiatives.
Back in 2019 the chicken shop took part in an anti-knife crime campaign with the home office, distributing food boxes branded #knifefree across England and Wales.
Source: gov.uk
Its understandable then that Strut Safe would want to partner up with a brand like theirs, Caragh says that strut safe’s PR team “approached Morley’s because it’s iconic and we thought London would be a great place to start.”
The group hope that other late night food stops might follow suit, “we would love to call on any more, not just in London but UK wide, all they would need to do is just display the vinyl sticker and just be okay with people coming in and waiting and not necessarily interacting or buying anything.”
Strut Safe Sticker, Source: Eva Clark
Londoners call for greater late night safety
The Mayor’s Nightlife Taskforce recently received complaints about London’s transport in relation to late night safety, with nearly a third saying they wanted to see improvements and 30% of women feeling unsafe using public transport.
This is understandably influencing Londoner’s choices to go out on the weekends. Research carried out by taxi booking app Freenow found that “67% of Londoners have left a night out early to avoid travelling home in the dark, and 41% say safety in the city has worsened over time”. They say that the issue of safety is crucial in keeping the night time economy alive.
So this issue is much broader than just waiting to get home, however, independent initiatives like Morley’s ‘Strut Stops’ could mobilise the change that Londoners want to see.
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