Eat Well Naturally in Fulham had applied to open round the clock
A West London food store has been granted permission to open later into the night despite concerns about noise and disturbance.
Eat Well Naturally, a health food store on Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham, did not secure approval to open 24/7 as hoped but will be able to continue serving customers until 2am.
Ahead of last night’s (June 17) Hammersmith and Fulham Council Licensing Sub-Committee meeting the premises already had a licence enabling it to open from 6am until 11pm Monday to Sunday. Alcohol was able to be sold from 8am.
In correspondence with the Met Police, the Director of Eat Well Naturally, Kirankumar Thakkar, confirmed alcohol sales would however still only run until 11pm. It was also agreed that shutters will be closed and locked beyond this point preventing any sales outside of the existing licensable hours.
The application drew an objection from the council’s Noise and Nuisance team. John Garcia, a Nuisance Investigator, wrote that having reviewed the neighbouring premises none have licences enabling them to open after midnight.
He added that granting the extension to Eat Well Naturally would “significantly increase the likelihood of noise disturbance during sensitive night-time hours”, including noise from customers and more vehicles.
Mr Thakkar alongside another Director, Meenesh Patel, wrote to Mr Garcia responding to his objection.
They wrote they have implemented a series of measures to manage concerns about noise and nuisance, including clear signage requesting customers leave quietly and no deliveries between 9pm and 6am.
Mr Garcia in turn wrote back, stating the mitigations outlined “are not considered sufficient to mitigate the potential for public nuisance arising from continuous overnight trading in this specific residential setting”.
He added that if the applicant wished to submit a revised proposal with a more limited extension of hours it would be considered on its own merits. Mr Garcia spoke at the Sub-Committee meeting to reiterate his objection to the application.
He said he was against the extended hours on the ground of preventing public nuisance, adding he believed the request represented a “significant change” to the store’s operations.
He said if approved the 24/7 opening would introduce a “new and avoidable risk” in a residential area, and asked members to refuse the proposal.
Mr Patel told the sub-committee the company runs “more than 12” premises across London and has never had any issues. He added the application is not asking to sell alcohol 24/7 but rather to enable the store to remain open.
Asked by Cllr Stewart Waine to outline the expected benefit, Mr Patel said the extended hours would mean staff can ensure cleaning, paperwork and other work can be done ahead of the morning trade alongside the additional sales.
There was some confusion over whether alcohol deliveries would extend beyond the 11pm curfew, in-part due to Mr Patel saying the store would not be taking orders into the night but that firms such as Uber would.
It was confirmed that deliveries would be limited by the restrictions in the licence. Following deliberation members approved the licence variation in-part, granting opening hours from 6am to 2am Monday to Sunday.
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