Westminster City Council has granted 100 Wardour Street a variation to its premises licence, allowing live music on Sundays despite concerns from residents about potential noise nuisance.
The Licensing Sub-Committee convened on Thursday, 10 July 2025, to consider the application from 100 Wardour Limited. The venue, already operating as a restaurant, bar, and live music venue, sought permission to add live music performances (indoors only) from 12:00 to 18:30 on Sundays in the basement. The applicant initially requested live music until 21:00, but this was revised following concerns raised during the consultation process.
The decision comes after Environmental Health initially raised concerns, citing the premises' location within the West End Cumulative Impact Zone. The West End Cumulative Impact Zone is an area with a high concentration of licensed premises where the council believes the number of licenses is negatively impacting the area. The Licensing Authority's policy is to refuse applications within the West End Cumulative Impact Zone for pubs and bars, fast food premises, and music and dancing and similar entertainment, other than applications to vary the hours within Core Hours or to reduce the overall capacity of the premises. However, this representation was later withdrawn. According to a memorandum, Environmental Health records indicated that action on amplified music noise was difficult to take without direct witnessing.
Despite the Environmental Health withdrawal, objections persisted from local residents and The Soho Society, primarily focusing on noise nuisance. The Soho Society argued that the omission of entertainment from the original licence was intended to protect residents from noise, providing respite one day a week. They also referenced initial results from Westminster City Council's Soho Noise Study, highlighting consistent exposure to high noise levels. Furthermore, they stated that residents had previously applied to review the premises licence in 2019 due to noise nuisance, an issue they believe remains unresolved. The Soho Society argued the application would fail to prevent public nuisance. Concerns were raised about the unloading and loading of equipment, scraping of tables, and general noise, potentially disrupting the relatively peaceful atmosphere of Soho on Sundays.
The applicant stated that the Sunday afternoon lunch events are popular, and guests enjoy listening to live music as opposed to recorded music in the form of a DJ. The applicant also stated that they had trialled live music on Sundays during lunch events in the basement using temporary event notices on 16 occasions over 2024 and 2025, and the events have operated without any issues or complaints.
Supporting the application, a report from Big Sky Acoustics Ltd stated that tests showed lower levels of low-frequency sound during controlled live music performances compared to recorded music. For example, during noise monitoring on a Sunday afternoon, live music sets were quieter than recorded music, especially in the lower octaves (bass frequencies). The report provided the following data:
- 16:00-16:29 (Recorded music): LAeq 84 dB, LCeq 92 dB, Leq,63Hz 91 dB, Leq,125Hz 84 dB
- 16:30-16:59 (Live music): LAeq 84 dB, LCeq 91 dB, Leq,63Hz 87 dB, Leq,125Hz 84 dB
- 17:00-17:29 (Recorded music): LAeq 87 dB, LCeq 96 dB, Leq,63Hz 95 dB, Leq,125Hz 88 dB
- 17:30-17:59 (Live music): LAeq 88 dB, LCeq 93 dB, Leq,63Hz 90 dB, Leq,125Hz 86 dB
- 18:00-18:29 (Recorded music): LAeq 88 dB, LCeq 96 dB, Leq,63Hz 94 dB, Leq,125Hz 88 dB
- 18:30-19:00 (Recorded music): LAeq 86 dB, LCeq 96 dB, Leq,63Hz 95 dB, Leq,125Hz 89 dB
The Licensing Sub-Committee, consisting of Councillor Aziz Toki ( Chair of Licensing), Councillor Melvyn Caplan, and Councillor Angela Piddock, ultimately approved the variation. The decision reflects a balance between supporting a popular venue and addressing concerns about noise impact on the local community. The full report is available on Westminster City Council's website.
Other agenda items at the meeting included licensing applications for Pepe's Piri Piri, the Windmill Theatre, and 1 Cavendish Square. These were addressed separately. More information about licensing policy is available on Westminster City Council's website.
