The Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee of Brent Council is scheduled to convene on 16 December 2025 to consider a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) application. The meeting will address concerns raised by the Metropolitan Police regarding a previous event at the same location. Councillors will also be asked to declare any conflicts of interest.

Temporary Event Notice: The Clay Oven, Ealing Road

The central focus of the meeting is an application for a Temporary Event Notice submitted by Mr Neal Khanna for The Clay Oven located at 197 Ealing Road, Wembley, HA0 4LW. The application seeks permission to extend licensable activities, including the sale of alcohol, regulated entertainment, and late-night refreshment, from 00:00 to 04:00 on 21 December 2025. According to the application form, the event is described as a Birthday Party with an expected attendance of 400 people. Mr Khanna states that he holds a personal licence, issued by Three Rivers District Council, and confirms that SIA registered security staff will be present, and that the venue will abide by the conditions of its premises licence.

Police Objections

The Metropolitan Police have lodged a formal objection to the TEN application, citing concerns about the prevention of crime and disorder, and public safety. PC Brendon MCINNES, Licensing Constable for Brent Licensing Team, states that a previous TEN granted to Mr Khanna on 23 November 2025 resulted in significant disruption and a call for police assistance at 02:45hrs due to a fight and overcrowding at the entrance.

Security informed police of a fight taking place and that they had lost control to the entrance of the venue where guests were trying to rush past the security to gain entry. This started crushing other guests. Whilst police were trying to take control of the situation approximately another 100 people turned up at the venue again trying to rush past and gain entry. These people were then abandoning their vehicles on Ealing Road obstructing traffic.

PC MCINNES reports that the police had to implement a temporary road closure on Ealing Road, divert buses, and request additional resources, including the Territorial Support Group¹, to manage the situation. He also states that when police requested to see the licence and licence holder, they were informed that there was no management present, despite the application stating that a personal licence holder would be present throughout the event.

PC MCINNES says that the police engaged with Mr Khanna after the event to obtain details of the event organiser and measures to prevent future incidents, but claims that Mr Khanna has only partly provided the information requested. PC MCINNES also expresses scepticism about the claim that the event is a birthday party with 400 guests, and raises concerns that the management team cannot run the event safely.

Police have no confidence that the management can run the event safely. The actions of the management team resulted in a number of fights breaking out. Disorder on the streets and causing a nuisance to the public. This also put a drain on police resources. This also posed a risk to the general public as this incident could have resulted in a similar incident as the O2 Academy Brixton in 2022.

PC MCINNES concludes that allowing the event to proceed would undermine the licensing objectives.

Policy Considerations

The report pack mentions Policy 6, Temporary Events, and notes that Environmental Health can object to a TEN. It also states that Temporary Event Notices are intended to allow licensable activities without a premises licence, or to extend or add a licensable activity for a very short time.

Other Items

The agenda also includes standard items such as apologies for absence and declarations of interest from councillors. Councillors are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests² or personal interests³ related to the items on the agenda.