onionbagblog

Hey hoe - back to #hyper #hyper #hyperlocal matters around my micro patch of South London. Back to Kelly’s boozer.

An application has been made [PDF] requesting that our friends from @lambeth_council allow a slight change to the current entertainment licence.

Nothing to really concern local residents over - only an alcohol and live music licence from 10am through until 1am Monday to Wednesday, and then a slight extension from 10am to 5am on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Deep, deep *sigh*

It is actually rather decent that the landlord has formally gone through the official channels. We have had some trouble here locally of late with an impromptu car wash that appeared at the start of the summer.

The garage at Kelly’s became a makeshift business overnight, with no formal planning application, or consultation with local residents over the change of business use.

Thankfully the very decent @janeinlondon / E Hants was quick on the case, and the car wash has closed down (although the horrid hand made sign, and the Portuguese flag, both still remain in place in what is a Conservation Area.)

The pub itself has been empty, of sorts, for over two years now; officially waiting to be re-developed, unofficially a squat. The current occupiers aren’t really a nuisance, and I would rather have the squat kids tucked up in bed keeping themselves to themselves than a 5am council endorsed entertainment licence.

The current licence extension is all rather confusing. A planning application was made at the start of the summer to convert Kelly’s into luxury flats. Part of the plan was to re-open the bar downstairs.

It is unclear if this highly unsocial 5am application is part of the existing planning application. You would have to think probably not - who the hell would want to buy a luxury flat, knowing that the bar down below has a licence until five in the morning?

Which makes me think that the current owners are trying to squeeze the last drops of income out of the premises with a licence extension until the new building work starts.

I’ve formally objected, and have asked for the thoughts of @janeinlondon, Jack the Lad Hopkins and the lone LibDem, Councillor Brown.

The application comes from a Company Secretary with a Camberwell SE5 8SX address. Coming across the Southwark border with a request for a bonkers 5am entertainment licence in a residential area, is something that hopefully our friends from @lambeth_council will be frowning upon.

Won’t they?