A Caribbean bar and restaurant on Chingford Mount Road can now stay open until 4am at weekends, after Waltham Forest Council agreed to extend its licence.
RnR Lounge asked the council's licensing sub-committee for longer hours, and came away with permission to close at 1am on Thursdays and Sundays and 4am on Fridays and Saturdays. Previously it had to shut at 11pm on weekdays and 2am at weekends.
At the hearing, the applicant told councillors he had never had a noise complaint from either the council or the Metropolitan Police, and said he was willing to work with the authorities. He set out the security measures already in place, including staff training and two to three door staff on weekend nights when they are needed.
The building was soundproofed in 2019. The venue has also run under temporary 4am licences seven times this year, without any complaints being made.
One local resident put in a formal objection, warning that later hours could "lead to an increase in antisocial behaviour, public nuisance, littering, and disturbance".
The sub-committee granted the extension anyway, saying it was confident the applicant would "follow the law and regulations".
Licensing decisions like this one are taken in public by a small panel of councillors, and anyone who lives or works near a venue can have their say before the hearing — either in support or, as here, in objection.
