The new museum site has been a decade in the making as Smithfield’s iconic Victorian General Market has been painstakingly refurbished
The London Museum has been granted a licence enabling “extended opening hours” as it gears up for its grand opening later this month.
The museum is to begin welcoming visitors from November 28 after a decade-long refurbishment of Smithfield’s iconic Victorian General Market.
The space, which has been empty since traders moved out in the 1990s, is to be split into three distinct areas: Real Time, Our Time, and Past Time.
A combination of permanent displays and temporary events, delivered with partners including Fabric nightclub and Morley’s chicken shop, its opening has been described by Lord Sadiq Khan as “proof that our city is the cultural capital of the world”.
The Poultry Market, which is adjacent to the Victorian General Market, is expected to open in 2028.
Ahead of the November unveiling the London Museum had applied to the local authority, the City of London Corporation, for a licence covering a range of event spaces, cafés, bars and restaurants.
The museum sought permission to host performances such as plays, film and live music, and to sell alcohol for consumption on and off the premises, 24 hours a day, Monday to Sunday. Late-night refreshment was requested until 5am.
Cameron Leslie, Co-Founder and Director at Fabric, was one of five people to write in supporting the plans.
“London Museum will soon become one of the city’s genuinely important cultural institutions, and the restoration of the Victorian General Market – derelict and closed to the public since the early 1990s – is exactly the kind of regeneration this part of the City needs,” they wrote.
“Bringing a magnificent but neglected building back into public and cultural use, as a social and cultural hub connecting the museum’s collection with London’s communities, is a significant public good. I can think of few better outcomes for that site.”
The Greater London Authority was also among the application’s backers, though one resident did write in objecting.
Greg Callus raised concerns about the proposed 24/7 alcohol sales, the scale of late-night events, and that the intention for off-sales to only be done via the Museum Shop, as he had been told, is not in the plans.
He said: “As someone who has managed an off-license as a licensee in years past, off-premises sales require a certain type of training and management. Staff need to be trained in preventing under-age and other unlawful sales; they need to be under the direct supervision of the licensee (even if they primarily run the Bar rather than the shop) including when the shop is open but the Bar is not.
“They cannot assume the same age checks which would apply to a bar apply to the museum shop. Importantly, there are not to my knowledge any premises selling for consumption off the premises after 2300 in this area. Nor do there need to be.”
Mr Callus proposed three conditions to help resolve his concerns, including limiting on-premises sales of alcohol to the bars and restaurants, at hours earlier than applied for, and to limit off-sales to the shop.
Mr Callus told the City of London Corporation’s Licensing Sub-Committee that he is supportive of the museum’s plans and it being a 24/7 venue.
He said of his initial concerns only one remained having engaged with the museum, namely the on-premises licensing hours.
Mr Callus said he had amended his proposal on this point, and instead suggested alcohol not be sold after midnight during the week and 2am on weekends. Living in Central London does require a degree of tolerance, he told members.
“You should tolerate a certain degree of public nuisance. People will throw up on your garage door from time to time, people will urinate in your doorway from time to time. Such are the facts of living in Zone 1. It is a privilege to live here.”
Mr Callus however added that such a late-night licence could lead to challenges getting people away from the museum’s immediate confines, and queried whether the 24/7 licence from the off would be wise.
Alun Thomas, representing the museum, said the application was intended to both legislate for day-to-day operations as well as the wider programme of cultural events. He said each event will have a bespoke risk assessment, and that from a transport perspective the museum is ideally located.
On the appropriateness of a 24/7 licence in that particular area, Mr Thomas pointed to Fabric as proof it can be effectively implemented and enforced.
“So there is the start of your evidence base,” he said. “Fabric, in this location, 24 hours, large capacity, doesn’t cause a problem. So the question is whether there is any likelihood that our proposal will undermine the licensing objectives.”
Mr Thomas told members that without the 24/7 licence the museum would be operating “in the dark” when it comes to establishing its programme of cultural events.
“It shouldn’t be a why,” he said. “It should be a why not.”
Committee members did not make a decision on the day of the meeting, though the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) understands they have since approved the application.
A London Museum spokesperson said: “In our new home, we set ourselves the ambition to be just like London, with extended opening hours fitting for a 24-hour city. With markets, a hospital, and nightclub nearby, Smithfield is active around the clock, and this license gives us the opportunity to create great moments for people to experience the museum, whatever their shift or schedule.
“We look forward to opening later this month and creating a brilliant new cultural destination for the capital.”
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