A West London health food store has been granted permission to open later into the night despite concerns about noise and disturbance. Eat Well Naturally, located on Wandsworth Bridge Road in Fulham, did not secure approval to operate 24/7 as originally hoped, but will be able to serve customers until 2am.
Prior to the Hammersmith and Fulham Council Licensing Sub-Committee meeting on June 17, the premises already held a licence allowing it to open from 6am to 11pm Monday to Sunday, with alcohol sales permitted from 8am. In correspondence with the Met Police, the store's director, Kirankumar Thakkar, confirmed that alcohol sales would still cease at 11pm. It was also agreed that shutters would be closed and locked after this time, preventing any sales outside of the existing licensable hours.
Noise and Nuisance Concerns
The application drew an objection from the council's Noise and Nuisance team. John Garcia, a Nuisance Investigator, noted that none of the neighbouring premises have licences allowing them to open after midnight. He argued that granting the extension would significantly increase the likelihood of noise disturbance during sensitive night-time hours, including noise from customers and additional vehicles.
Mr Thakkar and another director, Meenesh Patel, responded to Mr Garcia's objection, outlining measures they had implemented to manage noise and nuisance concerns. These included clear signage requesting customers to leave quietly and no deliveries between 9pm and 6am.
Mr Garcia, however, stated that these mitigations were not considered sufficient to prevent public nuisance arising from continuous overnight trading in this residential setting. He suggested that if the applicant submitted a revised proposal with a more limited extension, it would be considered on its merits. At the Sub-Committee meeting, Mr Garcia reiterated his objection, stating he was against the extended hours on grounds of preventing public nuisance and believed the request represented a significant change to the store's operations. He warned that 24/7 opening would introduce a new and avoidable risk in a residential area and asked members to refuse the proposal.
Applicant's Arguments
Mr Patel told the sub-committee that the company operates more than 12 premises across London and has never faced any issues. He emphasised that the application was not seeking to sell alcohol 24/7, but rather to allow the store to remain open. When asked by Cllr Stewart Waine about the expected benefits, Mr Patel explained that extended hours would enable staff to complete cleaning, paperwork, and other tasks ahead of morning trade, in addition to generating extra sales.
There was some confusion over whether alcohol deliveries would extend beyond the 11pm curfew, partly due to Mr Patel's statement that the store would not take orders into the night, but that third-party firms like Uber could. 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.
