{"id":729725,"date":"2026-08-06T21:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/729725\/"},"modified":"2026-08-06T21:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T21:06:10","slug":"council-wants-pubs-in-londons-soho-and-west-end-to-limit-standing-hospitality-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/729725\/","title":{"rendered":"Council wants pubs in London\u2019s Soho and West End to limit standing | Hospitality industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waiting at the bar and trying to catch the bartender\u2019s eye so you can order a pint, before going to stand with your friends and have a catchup, has been how British people have experienced going to the pub for centuries.<\/p>\n

But Westminster council has been accused of trying to put a stop to it. The council, which has jurisdiction over one of the busiest nightlife districts in Europe \u2013 Soho and the West End \u2013 has recommended not allowing \u201cvertical drinking\u201d or ordering at the bar in its new draft licensing policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, has criticised these \u201crestrictive and anti-growth policies\u201d and said he hoped to use new powers to be granted to him by government to stop councils from overreaching in this way.<\/p>\n

This policy, which is out for consultation and comments from residents of and visitors to Westminster, says pubs applying for a licence should: \u201cDiscourage excessive drunkenness and encourage the provision of more seating in premises that serve alcohol for people to sit and enjoy a drink and order food by table service in place of open bar space that caters for high volume vertical drinking.\u201d It goes on to recommend that sales of alcohol and food should be \u201cby waiter or waitress service only\u201d.<\/p>\n

Top licensing lawyer Philip Kolvin KC said: \u201cVertical drinking is also social drinking, allowing people to mix and socialise as they wish, rather than being confined to their predetermined groups. So this is asking the traditional pub not to behave as a traditional pub and to ask people to stay with the group they came with. One could characterise this as being contrary to the ethos of pubs as places which promote community cohesion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The council also plans to ban the opening of new pubs and bars in what it terms the \u201ccumulative impact zone\u201d, which encompasses Soho and large parts of the West End<\/a>. The draft policy says: \u201cThe council will normally refuse any application made in respect of a premises located in the West End Cumulative Impact Zone that is a pub or bar, a fast food premises or a venue offering music, dancing and similar entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Khan said: \u201cThis is more evidence that restrictive and anti-growth policies aren\u2019t working. At a time when venues need our support more than ever, the rules on licensing are stacked against them. That\u2019s why the new powers the mayor is getting from government are so important, as they mean the mayor will be able to call in licensing decisions and have a say in local policies to protect London\u2019s vital nightlife and hospitality industries.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor is to get powers via secondary legislation expected to be passed in Westminster later this year, which will allow him to \u201ccall in\u201d decisions made by local councils.<\/p>\n

This comes after Khan criticised a community group funded by the council, which vowed to object to all new bar and restaurant licences, operators in the area have said.<\/p>\n

The Soho Society, a group established in 1972 aimed at \u201cpreserving the character of Soho\u201d, voted in its AGM earlier this summer for a new licensing mandate, meaning it will challenge all new applications for bars and restaurants in the area, including reviews of existing licences. It will also object to any venue that wishes to open beyond \u201ccore hours\u201d, which Westminster council decrees end between 10.30pm and midnight, depending on the business and day of the week.<\/p>\n

Entrepreneur Sacha Lord, who was Andy Burnham\u2019s Greater Manchester night-time adviser, said: \u201cWestminster council are the most anti-hospitality council in the UK. Their draft licensing policy is out today and is recommending banning standing in pubs, and they don\u2019t want people ordering at the bar. It\u2019s like dragging us back to Covid times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Kill, the chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: \u201cStanding in pubs has always been part of Britain\u2019s pub culture. It\u2019s how people meet friends, watch live sport, wait to be served and enjoy the unique atmosphere that pubs have provided for generations.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEncouraging policies that favour more seating and reduced standing space risks changing the very character of these venues while reducing capacity, increasing operating costs and limiting flexibility for responsible businesses already under significant financial pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Barnes, Westminster city council deputy leader and cabinet member for growth and planning, said: \u201cWe want people to go out in the West End and have a good time. Our guidance is simply about encouraging venues to manage their customers so people don\u2019t pack on to pavements or excessive drinking doesn\u2019t disturb others passing by.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cumulative impact zone is recognised as an area that has a high concentration of activity and particular policies exist for that in Westminster and the mayor\u2019s London-wider planning. There is a legal obligation to look at every application on its merits and we do just that, meaning we see new venues opening all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The headline of this article was amended on 6 August 2026 to better reflect the article itself. An earlier version had referred to the council seeking a \u201cban\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Waiting at the bar and trying to catch the bartender\u2019s eye so you can order a pint, before…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":729726,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-729725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=729725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/729725\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/729726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=729725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=729725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=729725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}