The Drill, in Brentwood Road, has applied to vary its premises licence to allow it to open until 12.20am on Monday to Thursday, and until 1.20am on Friday and Saturday – one hour later than its current opening hours.
However, following concerns over the potential for “disturbance to residents”, the application is set to be reviewed by Havering Council’s licensing sub-committee next Monday (November 10).
A council report reveals that, while there have been no representations against the plans from nearby residents or businesses, three objections have been made by the Metropolitan Police, the council’s licensing authority and its environmental health team.
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Both the police and the licensing authority argued that longer opening hours could lead to “higher levels of intoxication”, which in turn can cause “antisocial behaviour” and “violent crime”.
Oisin Daly, on behalf of the licensing authority, mentioned in the objection letter about “previous incidents at the premises… where fights have occurred in the street”.
Also noted were “issues in the past” with patrons congregating in the area outside The Drill when leaving, thereby causing “noise nuisance to neighbours”.
In the Met’s objection, PC Chris Stockman said that the proposed extension will “likely result in increased disturbance to local residents”, including from customers “loitering” at closing time, raised voices and car door slamming.
PC Stockman referred to a specific incident to demonstrate the increased risk of “crime and disorder” as a result of patrons drinking later.
He said: “At around 0015 hours on Christmas Day in 2022 patrons from the venue were involved in a large scale physical altercation in the street.
“Whilst police acknowledge this isn’t a regular occurrence it does nonetheless demonstrate that violent offences involving intoxicated patrons have occurred at such hours.”
The environmental health team added that while it has “not received any complaints in the last year” about the pub, the opening hours extension will “inadvertently increase the noise in the area in the early hours”.
They noted that the venue is opposite shops with flats above in Brentwood Road, as well as backing onto properties in Slewins Lane.
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Star Pubs, which runs The Drill, said the pub’s operators take the “happiness and wellbeing of their customers and local community extremely seriously”.
A spokesperson told the Recorder: “The operators are excellent in ensuring any issues are identified before anything happens, such as having a voluntary dispersal policy in place, closed doors and windows after 10pm to minimise noise and weekend door staff, and they deal with any issues that do occur quickly and efficiently.”
They added that the longer trading hours will allow The Drill to compete with other pubs in the area, rather than customers leaving early which can have a “detrimental effect” on the business.
