Clapham bars fear Lambeth Council EMRO will force closure
Rudy Weller, director of late-night venue the Artesian Well, on Wandsworth Road in south London, claimed his business wouldn’t survive a ban on alcohol sales from midnight to 6am should the EMRO go through. The bar and nightclub had its licensing hours moved from 3am to 1.30am a year ago – a move that Weller claimed had already seriously damaged trade.
He explained: “A previous attempt by Lambeth Council to restrict our licensing hours to midnight was overturned by a judge 12 months ago. Despite accepting the evidence put forward by local residents, he ruled that after 14 years, we also had a right to continue trading as a business.
“Now, the council are again trying to remove that right.”
James Parfitt, owner of Lost Society, which is situated next door to the Artesian, said if the EMRO happens his business will have to shut down.
Parfitt said: “We are currently open until 1am on Friday and Saturday. We used to be open until 2am, but due to a planning issue we had our licence cut – and that has halved our take. Our Friday nights are already such that we might as well not bother.
“At least now the bars on our road have a staggered closing time. If the EMRO goes through, customers will be piling on the street at the same time.”
The EMRO consultation period opened on 18 October and will run for a month, with a decision expected in January.
Lambeth Council said the proposed EMRO, which would also impact a third bar – Mist on Rocks – was in response to requests for help and support from nearby residents “who have suffered years of noise nuisance and anti-social behaviour” in what is a mainly residential area.
Councillor Jack Hopkins said: “We’ve worked with businesses and residents in this area for a number of years but the problems haven’t stopped.”
Hopkins added: “The businesses have taken guidance from the council and police, but we remain concerned that this residential area just cannot cope with a number of late night clubs and the amount of people it attracts at a late hour.”
Weller refuted the claim that anti-social behaviour was an issue. In addition, he accused the council of wasting thousands of pounds of money in their “obsession” over his venue.
He explained: “Police have never arrested or cautioned anybody at our venue, but the council want to close us down. They say they have done all they can to help the situation, but all they have done is monitor us.
“Last October, they sent out undercover health and safety workers, dressed in hoodies, to spy on us and the Lost Society. It was an illegal practice, and they were forced to apologise to us when the police caught them out.”
Weller added: “We’ve done everything in our power to minimise disruption to the local community. The building is sound-proofed, we’ve got noise limiters, and we’ve got a door entry system. But nothing seems to be good enough for the council.”
