A Jermyn Street resident has voiced concerns over a nightclub's plan to expand its basement capacity. The application to vary the premises licence for Dear Darling, located at 91 Jermyn Street, was discussed at a meeting of the Westminster Licensing Sub-Committee (2) on Thursday 17 July 2025.

Black Door 91 Limited, the applicant, is seeking to increase the capacity of the basement floor to 160 and the total premises capacity to 320 by amending condition 21 of their license, according to the 91 Jermyn Street Report website.

However, a local resident has objected to the proposed changes, citing existing noise issues. According to the meeting's summary, the resident stated that the nightclub has been a significant source of very late night noise, which is highly disruptive and they expect this to become much worse if venue capacity is increased.

The Environmental Health Service initially raised concerns, with Anil Drayan, representing the service, stating that the proposal may undermine the licensing objectives of public safety and prevention of public nuisance.

PC Steve Muldoon, representing the Westminster Police Licensing Team, also initially objected to the application, noting that the location has seen a number of offences in the last 12 months. The provided text does not specify the types of offenses that have occurred. He expressed concern that an additional 100 customers without additional safety measures could undermine the licensing objectives. However, following submission of a minor variation to add an amended ID condition (condition 32) the Metropolitan Police withdrew their representation on 9 July 2025. The specifics of the condition are detailed in the report:

  1. (i) When the premises are open all customers entering the premises, or entering the sub-basement floor from the basement floor, after 23:00 will have their ID and/or membership card scanned on entry, or be subject to a biometric scanning system (when fingerprint scanning will be required for all customers who have previously shown identification at the premises). (ii) All customers entering shall have their facial image captured by the ID Scanner camera with the exception of persons who enter using finger print scanning and have provided a recent facial image captured by the ID Scanner (iii) The above requirement is subject to the following exception, namely that a maximum number of 25 guests per night may be admitted at the Managers discretion without necessarily ID being scanned and recorded. The admission of such guests however shall be in accordance with the following procedure. a. The Police shall approve in writing the names of those managers (Police Approved Managers) who are authorised to sign in such guests, such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld. There shall be a maximum of three Police Approved Managers. b. A legible record (the Signing in Sheet) of these guests' names shall be retained on the premises for inspection by the licensing authority and Police for a period of 31 days. The name of the Police Approved Manager authorising the admission will also be recorded by that Manager. c. Guests shall be required to produce some form of ID such as a bank card (or emailed electronic photo ID) and an ID scan entry with a live photo shall be created. d. Where there are appropriate reasons for a guest not to be able to produce ID and be subject to ID scan, the Police Approved Manager may nevertheless permit entry. In such circumstances he shall also record the reasons for this in the Signing in Sheet. (iv) Notwithstanding (i) and (iii) above, patrons who are attending a pre-booked private event at the premises do not need to have their ID scanned on entry and instead a written guest list shall be held at reception for the event, and will be retained for 31 days after the event for inspection by the police and responsible authorities upon request.

In response to the resident's concerns, the applicant provided a traffic management plan, which is included in the 91 Jermyn Street Report website. The plan includes several measures to mitigate noise and disruption:

  • Deploying two traffic marshals to maintain traffic flow and prevent junction blockages.
  • Reporting cars causing obstruction or nuisance.
  • Patrolling the area to remind drivers of parking restrictions and the impact on traffic flow and resident noise levels.
  • Logging and reporting repeat offenders to Westminster Council.
  • Reporting vandalized parking signage to Westminster Council for urgent restoration.
  • Using body-worn cameras by marshals to ensure marshal safety and provide evidence in cases of non-compliance or aggression.
  • Providing travel/parking advice for visiting DDs in all inhouse GL and table booking confirmations.
  • Maintaining communication with local residents and businesses, addressing concerns promptly.
  • Maintaining a nightly log of all incidents, interventions and any unauthorised parking.
  • Engaging Westminster Council for on-site enforcement support and timely repairs to damaged signage or markings.