The Licensing Sub-Committee met to consider two licensing applications: an application for a new premises license for the Borough of Bethnal Green Working Men's Club and an application for a variation of a premises license for the Victoria Park Market. The committee adjourned to make their decisions in private, and the applicants were to be notified within five working days.

Borough of Bethnal Green Working Men's Club

The Borough of Bethnal Green Working Men's Club, on Pollard Row, applied for a new premises license to permit the sale of alcohol, the provision of regulated entertainment, and the provision of late-night refreshments. The application related to the basement and ground floor of the building. There were multiple objectors to this application, including local residents, the Licensing Authority, and, unusually, the holder of two existing premises licenses for the same property: Warren Dent of Working Men's Club Ltd.

Mr. Dent explained that he had been operating at the club for over twenty years, and claimed that he had an agreement with the club to provide them with a share of his revenue. The club disputed this, saying that while they had a longstanding informal arrangement with Mr. Dent to use their premises to hold events, he now owed them money and that they had served him with a legal notice to quit by 29 July 2024. This was disputed by Mr. Dent.

The Licensing Authority noted that if granted, the new license would cover the same area and times as one of the existing licenses, meaning that the same premises would be subject to two different licenses. This, it was argued, would make it difficult to determine which license holder was responsible for any breaches of licensing objectives, especially as both licenses would permit the sale of alcohol. This meant that the new application would fall foul of Tower Hamlets' Cumulative Impact Assessment policy, which restricts the number of licenses granted in areas where there is a high density of existing licenses in order to prevent crime and disorder and public nuisance¹.

The club's representative, Kerry Smorthitt, argued that they had no intention of operating the new license at the same time as Mr. Dent's and that it would only come into effect after he had vacated the premises. They also sought to reassure the committee that they would operate on a much smaller scale than Mr. Dent, hosting community events such as birthday parties and wakes.

Victoria Park Market

Victoria Park Market, operated by The Good Market Company Ltd in Victoria Park, sought to vary their existing license to add a Saturday market day with the sale of alcohol from 11:00 to 17:00. The market had been operating every Sunday since 2017, and already had a license permitting the sale of alcohol on Sundays.

A number of local residents and a Councillor from the neighbouring London Borough of Hackney, Councillor Penny Root, objected to the application on the grounds that it would cause public nuisance and potentially impact public safety. Concerns were raised about the additional traffic and parking that the market would generate, especially as access was only possible through the narrow Gore Road, which is designated as a Low Traffic Neighbourhood.

The market was also criticized for being expensive and therefore not relevant to the needs of many local residents, including residents of the nearby Parkview Estate and Peabody tenants living in the area.

It was also argued that adding a Saturday market would effectively make the western end of Victoria Park unusable for recreation for the whole weekend, especially as the market had already expanded from the designated area of the Night Walk to encroach on other parts of the park.

Councillor Root questioned whether sufficient consideration had been given to the environmental impact of the market, and argued that a full consultation with local residents on both sides of the park boundary should have taken place before the application was considered.

Max Kennedy, representing the market, stated that they had received no complaints about the Sunday market, and claimed that they had in place a robust waste management plan and that they had improved the cleanliness of the park.

Mr. Kennedy argued that they were following the process set out by Tower Hamlets Council's Parks team, and noted that the market had been formally signed off by the Mayor. He sought to allay concerns about the size of the Saturday market, saying that it would only have 25-30 stalls, taking up less than half an acre of 250 acres, which is the park .

The committee also sought clarification on the siting of stalls selling alcohol, and were told that they would be sited away from residential buildings.