Sadiq Khan to take on councils to bring back hope of al fresco Soho
The Soho no-go
Westminster council is reportedly blocking Soho’s restaurants from offering al fresco outdoors dining, but Sadiq Khan may have plans to overrule the nimbys out to spoil the fun.
London major Khan has announced that 13 London boroughs will get a share of a £500,000 fund intended to help bring outdoors dining and later openings to part of London. But Soho is not one of the areas on the list.
Westminster council failed to apply for the funding, powering accusations the council is overly influenced by nimby groups keen to, quite literally, keep the noise down.
Unlike other areas in London, Soho won’t be pedestrianised this summer, but in future Khan will get more say in what happens to local businesses.
A change in licensing powers means the Mayor will be able to make formal representations on licensing decisions, based on a London-wide licensing plans.
This will effectively give Khan further ability to pushback against councils who attempt to block measures intended to support local restaurants and London nightlife.
“For the first time ever, City Hall has a direct say in ow licensing decisions are made across the capital,” says Khan.
“By making it easier to extend opening hours and expand what’s on offer, I’m determined to support out hospitality and nightlife.”
Councils that have been awarded substantial grants as part of the al fresco dining initiative include Barking & Dagenham, Brent, Greenwich and Lambeth.
One area already announced to be embracing al fresco, car-free weekends this summer is Clapham’s Northcote Road, which will be closed to cars each weekend from 11th July to 30th August.
Soho was part-pedestrianised in 2020 during Covid, and again in 2021, but hasn’t been since. The hope is Khan’s new powers could help bring back periods of car-free areas in one of the more buzzy parts of London in 2027.
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