A temporary event notice (TEN) for alcohol sales at a Portobello Road shop during the Notting Hill Carnival is facing objections from the Metropolitan Police and the council's Noise and Nuisance Team.
The Kensington and Chelsea Licensing Sub-Committee is scheduled to review the application for Ground Floor, 359 Portobello Road, submitted by Mr William Rogerson. Rogerson is seeking permission to sell alcohol off the premises during the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August 2025. The plan involves selling alcohol from an internal bar, with a maximum of 12 people on the premises at any given time.
However, the application has met with resistance from both the police and the Noise and Nuisance Team, who have raised concerns about public safety and potential public nuisance. The report by the Director of Highway and Regulatory Services notes these objections.
PC Jinelle Caldinez, representing the Metropolitan Police, has objected to the TEN based on the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety. PC Caldinez argues that the proposed alcohol sales are not coordinated with the official event planning and raise safety concerns.
PC Caldinez highlights that the proposed alcohol sales at 359 Portobello Road during Notting Hill Carnival are not coordinated with the official event planning and raise serious safety concerns. The premises is in close proximity to sound systems and crowd activity. The Police are particularly concerned that the sale of alcohol from this location could encourage people to congregate, disrupt crowd flow, and create bottlenecks that pose significant risks to public safety.
The official event planning is set, organised and run by Notting Hill Carnival Ltd (NHCL) who, working with the local authorities and the Police, have overall responsibility for ensuring the event runs safely. Bars, food stalls and street traders have to meet the requirements set by NHCL management to help the Carnival run safely. The positioning of bars is carefully planned to help prevent serious risks such as pinch points and crowd surges.
The police objection, detailed in Appendix B - Police Objection, also notes the absence of a risk assessment, event management plan, and details on how alcohol sales would be controlled. Concerns were also raised that the activity may amount to unauthorised street trading, as alcohol could be sold onto the public highway, contrary to local policy. The police have recommended that the Licensing Sub-Committee refuse the temporary event notice. PC Caldinez also notes that the applicant has failed to follow RBKC's Licensing Policy and has not consulted Police prior to submitting this TEN. The TEN is potentially violating the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea's policy not to grant a street trading license where it is proposed to sell alcohol, or to grant street trading licenses for sales of any goods from a doorway into the public highway during Notting Hill Carnival.
Philip Richardson, a Principal Environmental Health Officer for RBKC, has also objected to the TEN on behalf of the Council's Noise and Nuisance Team, citing concerns over the prevention of public nuisance and public safety. Richardson raised concerns that the premises is located very close to the Faraday Road sound system, in an area already known for heavy congestion during Notting Hill Carnival. He warned that alcohol sales from the premises could exacerbate this congestion by encouraging people to gather, obstructing the flow of pedestrian traffic, and increasing the risk of public safety incidents. The Noise and Nuisance Team also highlighted the lack of a suitable risk assessment or event plan and recommended that the temporary event notice be refused. Their concerns are outlined in Appendix C - Noise and Nuisance Objection.
The Licensing Sub-Committee has the option to issue a counter notice, take no action, or impose conditions on the TEN. If the Licensing Sub-Committee chooses not to reject the TEN, they can impose one or more conditions from the premises licence or club premises certificate, if the premises has either, which they consider are not inconsistent with the carrying out of the licensable activities under the temporary event notice. The sub-committee is scheduled to convene on Tuesday 12 August 2025 to consider the objection notices from the Metropolitan Police and the Noise and Nuisance Team.
The Public Reports Pack includes a report by the Director of Highway and Regulatory Services, the Temporary Event Notice, the Police Objection, the Noise and Nuisance Objection, the Carnival Policy, and a Site Map.
