Decision

1.   George Nwachoukwu (‘the Applicant’) on behalf of Empire Lounge Services Ltd, applied for two separate Temporary Event Notices (‘TENs’) for the currently Licensed Premises, Grand Empire (Ground Floor), 108-110 Rushey Green, London SE6 4HW (‘the Premises’).
2. The TENs were served in accordance with s.100 of the Licensing Act 2003. The first, received by the responsible authorities on 9th December and the second received by the responsible authorities on 12th December 2025
3. The particulars proposed for the respective TENs were:

Particulars of Applications

First

Sale by retail of alcohol for consumption ON the premises, late night refreshment and recorded music

00:01 – 04:00, Saturday morning 27th December 2025

20:00 – 04:00, Saturday evening to Sunday morning, 27th to 28th December 2025.

An extra 30 minutes to be allowed for dispersal on both dates.

The event is to be held on the ground floor only and a maximum to be allowed as present at any one time on the premises is 250 people.

Second

Sale by retail of alcohol for consumption ON the premises, late night refreshment and recorded music

00:01 – 04:00, Thursday morning 1st January 2026

An extra 30 minutes to be allowed for dispersal.

The event is to be held on the ground floor only and a maximum to be allowed as present at any one time on the premises is 320 people.

1. An objection was received from the Metropolitan Police for the first TEN on 10th December and for the second TEN on 17th December 2025. In both cases, this was within the specified time limit in accordance with section 104 of the Licensing Act 2003. The grounds were that the applications did not promote the licensing objectives of public safety and prevention of crime and disorder.
2. The Premises are currently licensed under premises licence number PL1480.
3. A meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee B was convened to hear the first application on the 18th of December 2025. It was agreed by the parties that, since both applications for the TENs and the Police’s objections to them were extremely similar it was appropriate to consider the second along with the first, at the hearing on the 18th.
4. 7. A meeting of the Licensing Sub-Committee B was held on Thursday the 18th of December 2025 at 7.00pm, to consider applications for both TENs separately. Kennedy Obazee, Safer Communities Licensing Officer, introduced the report. PC Gillian Pearce presented the Metropolitan Police objections and David Dadds, solicitor, spoke on behalf of his client in support of the TEN applications. They were each allowed an equal amount of time and answered the questions put to them by Members. Both the Police and the applicant’s representative were given an opportunity at the end to briefly sum up their cases.
5. In making its decision the Sub-Committee has considered all the papers contained in the report packs and submitted documents, including written submissions and photographs, together with the oral submissions made by each party. The Sub-Committee also considered the Council’s own Statement of Licensing Policy 2020-25 and the latest Home Office Statutory Guidance, revised in December 2023.
6. The decision of the Sub-Committee was to grant the first TEN for the 27th and 28th December 2025, and also the second TEN for the 1st of January 2026 for the sale of alcohol for consumption on the premises, and for late night refreshment and recorded music in accordance with their applications and no counter-notice would be given.
7. The Sub-Committee’s reasons for taking these decisions are:

There was little evidence presented of crime and disorder arising from the operation of these premises to date, including under previous TENs.

The Sub-Committee noted that responses had been provided to the objections, including the SIA staff member not wearing their ID badge and cars parking along Holbeach.

1. The Sub-Committee considered that using ‘clickers’ at the entrance and exit, as described, could not adequately track and control the numbers of people entering. It issues an advisory to the Applicant to adopt a satisfactory method of continuously monitoring and controlling the number of people at the venue to ensure the capacity set for the events was not exceeded.
2. There is a right of appeal against this decision by a relevant person. Any appeal should be made to the Magistrates’ court within 21 days beginning with the day on which the Appellant was notified of the decision.

Any person who has given notice of appeal on a licensing decision to the Magistrates Court, or is considering doing so, should not approach council officers for legal advice. A person making an appeal should seek independent legal advice, for instance, from a firm of solicitors or the local Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to assist.

18th December 2025