The Licensing Review Sub-Committee met on Tuesday 27 May 2025 to consider applications for the review of two premises licences. The committee approved recommendations to modify licence conditions for both the Woolwich Snooker Club and the Multi-Use Events Venue within the same premises, following concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police and Royal Borough of Greenwich Public Health.

Woolwich Snooker Club and Multi-Use Events Venue Licence Reviews

The Sub-Committee considered applications to review the premises licences for the Woolwich Snooker Club (formerly Hustlers Snooker Club & Sports Bar) and the 'Multi-Use Events Venue' within the same premises, both located at 2-10 Hare Street, Woolwich, SE18 6LZ. The reviews were initiated by PC Mindaugas Alsauskas of the Metropolitan Police, citing concerns related to the licensing objectives of the Prevention of Crime & Disorder and Public Safety.

The primary issue stemmed from an incident on 2 February 2025, where Mr Tacim Yavuz, the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) for the Snooker Club and Premises Licence Holder for both venues, was seen to punch a member of the public and then kick another individual. This incident occurred after Mr Yavuz intervened in a fight between two patrons. The police also highlighted a failure to provide CCTV footage of the incident when requested, which was a breach of licence conditions.

Ms Ishwak Ahmed, representing Royal Borough of Greenwich Public Health, supported the review, citing the incident and sustained breaches of licensing conditions, particularly concerning CCTV operation and staff training.

Mr David Dadds, representing Mr Yavuz and the licence holder, argued that Mr Yavuz acted in self-defence after being threatened with a knife and that the police investigation had concluded without further action. He also stated that efforts had been made to recover the CCTV footage, which had unfortunately been unsuccessful. Mr Dadds highlighted that the Multi-Use Events Venue was not operational at the time of the incident and that the premises had since implemented new training programmes and upgraded CCTV systems.

After deliberation, the Sub-Committee decided to approve recommendations to modify the licence conditions for both licences. For the Woolwich Snooker Club licence, Mr Yavuz was removed as the designated premises supervisor, the licence was suspended for six weeks, and licence conditions regarding CCTV operation and staff training were modified. Similar modifications were made to the licence conditions for the Multi-Use Events Venue, ensuring parity between the two licences for the premises. The Sub-Committee noted that while they accepted the CCTV was unrecoverable, they were concerned about the lack of rigorous adherence to licence conditions prior to the incident. The decision was finely balanced, with the Sub-Committee opting not to revoke the licences entirely, but to implement measures to promote the licensing objectives.