Greenwich town centre gallery has late licence approved
An application from Artfix in Greenwich town centre for an alcohol licence has been approved by Greenwich Council’s licensing board.
Artfix operate a gallery space, café and library in Greenwich near the market.
They sought to serve alcohol from 12:00 noon until 23:00 hours Thursday to Tuesday and from 11:00 until 23:00 hours on Wednesday.
The police asked for 19 conditions which the applicants agreed to.
Despite that, Greenwich West councillor Maureen O’Mara (Labour) said “enough was enough” for nightlife in Greenwich and opposed the move.
She recently opposed Japanese restaurant Nanban serving alcohol until 11pm and sought to prevent diners drinking while eating.
Some residents around the market also objected.
The gallery claim they will open late around once per week. Outside drinking is banned due to noise concerns.
A cumulative impact zone was mentioned by opponents, though supporters state a gallery is quite different to chain pubs such as Wetherspoons or the numerous Young’s pubs now seen in the town.
I don’t see the issue here. There are already 2 pubs inside Greenwich Market, an art gallery one night a week shouldn’t cause any problems.
The article mentions Nanban, what’s happened to it? I’ve walked past the site many times in the past 6 months (since the previous article was written), I was excited for the opening but it doesn’t look like any development is happening at all. Did they decide not to proceed? It would be a shame if so.
I think 11:00 pm is areasonable time for this venue to close and is much better than closing at midnight or 1:00 am or even 2:00 am like some venues.
It will give custimers and staff enough time to catch their bus or get their cabs home at the end of the evening.
@SanZer: the pandemic has given many pause for thought and Nanban may have become a victim of this new thinking. The proposed pizza place in the old Salvation Army shop in Deptford never happened.