The meeting was scheduled to discuss an objection to a temporary events notice submitted by The Calabash Restaurant & Bar, 1-2 Stockwell Street, London, SE10 9JN. Councillors were also scheduled to note the details of which outside bodies Councillors are members of.

The Calabash Restaurant & Bar, 1-2 Stockwell Street, London, SE10 9JN

The agenda included consideration of an objection notice submitted by the Royal Borough of Greenwich Environmental Health Service (Community Protection Team) relating to two Temporary Event Notices for The Calabash Restaurant and Bar.

The notices were submitted by Mr Bankole Jones, in order to:

a) Extend the permitted hours for an event that will run from 16:00 hours on Friday 28 February until 02:00 hours on Saturday 29 February 2025. This event is described as a “Ladies Night”; b) Extend the permitted hours for an event that will run from 16:00 hours on Saturday 15 February 2025 until 02:00 hours on Sunday 16th February 2025. This event is described as “Dances and refreshment with recorded music and dance until 2am […] expected guests approximately 100”.

The objection notice refers specifically to incidents of noise that are said to have taken place on Sunday 3 November 2024 (around 01:21 hours); Friday 6 December 2024 (around 22:50 hours); Sunday 8th December 2024 (around 20:00 hours); and Saturday 21 December 2024 (around 20:45 hours), which are said to be so loud that they constitute a statutory nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Based on these incidents, my view is that the TEN Notice Giver does not have any respect for neighbours in the area and is either unwilling or unable to control music escape from this premises and therefore is not currently promoting the licensing objection for the prevention of public nuisance. Any extension to the premises’ operating times will only make this situation worse.

The report notes that The premises falls within the Greenwich Town Centre Cumulative Impact Zone, and that the applicant was reminded that they must demonstrate that their application would not add to the cumulative impact. The councillors were scheduled to be reminded of the following section of the Statutory Guidance issued by the Secretary of State:

Although ten clear working days is the minimum possible notice that may be given, licensing authorities should publicise their preferences in terms of advance notice and encourage premises users to provide the earliest possible notice of events planned by them.

The report pack also sets out the appeal process, explaining that:

Right of appeal to the magistrates’ court is available to the premises user, the Police, and Environmental Health.

Declarations of Interest

Councillors were scheduled to note the outside bodies that each member of the Council has been appointed to. They were also scheduled to be reminded of their obligation to declare personal and financial interests. The report pack explains that:

A Member has a personal interest where any business is likely to affect [...] them, or a relevant person or a relevant body (where the Member is aware that they have the interest); more than a majority of those in the ward you represent.