A popular pub near Trafalgar Square is fighting for its licence after local residents complained about drinkers standing on the "wrong pavement" and creating unacceptable noise levels in the area.
The Walkers of Whitehall at 15 Whitehall is facing a licence review by Westminster City Council following allegations that up to 100 patrons regularly gather in a small alleyway leading to Craig's Court, causing intimidation and anti-social behaviour.
Residents' complaints and safety concerns
According to documents submitted to the council, residents reported feeling unsafe and fed up with the noise caused by drinkers outside the basement pub. One anonymous applicant described navigating through groups of intoxicated people, including one occasion where a customer advanced towards them while shouting, and another where someone was urinating less than five feet away.
The submission stated: "I find this very intimidating. I often have to navigate through groups of people who are intoxicated... This is entirely unacceptable. Walkers of Whitehall is a large pub - there is no need for the public sidewalk to be used as private pub property."
Residents claim they've attempted to engage with the premises "numerous times" but received no response to their concerns about the congregation of drinkers on pavement that doesn't belong to the pub.
Proposed conditions and pub's response
The review applicant has called for strict new conditions, including:
- Limiting outdoor alcohol consumption to just 12 people before 9pm
- Restricting the number of smokers or people standing outside after 9pm to four
- Removing promotional boards and barriers from the pavement
- Implementing sufficient measures to prevent litter and waste
- Stopping all deliveries and waste collections between 11pm and 8am
Young's, the pub's owner, has proposed its own set of conditions in response, promising to:
- Stop patrons gathering outside after 9:30pm, except for smokers
- Limit smokers to 10 people at any time
- Ensure customers conduct themselves in an "orderly manner" while outside
- Provide supervision of the outdoor area
- Curtail waste and recycling collections during sensitive hours
The premises licence holder stated that these conditions had been in place "for some time" and that customers are now kept on the pavement without impinging on the road or crossing to the opposite pavement as they had done historically.
Evidence dispute and council decision
The pub's management has challenged photographic evidence submitted by complainants, noting that the images lack time stamps and could depict situations from before new management took over or show people who weren't actually pub customers.
In a written statement, the licence holder explained: "There are still on occasion, a significant number of customers outside the premises but this tends to be only at key trading periods, for example early evening, particularly on a Thursday when the weather is good, but when this does happen customers are well behaved, monitored by management and staff, and are inside the premises (other than for smokers) by 9pm."
Westminster City Council's Licensing Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday, November 27 to consider the application and decide the future of the popular drinking establishment located just off one of London's most famous squares.
