Catford residents are raising concerns about a local venue's application to extend its late-night licence, sparking debate about potential public nuisance, crime, and the impact on residents' well-being. The Lewisham Council Licensing Sub Committee D met on 14 October 2025 to discuss the application from Fourteen87, located at 7 Catford Broadway.

The venue is seeking to extend its hours for alcohol sales, recorded music, and late-night refreshment. Currently, Fourteen87 closes at 00:00 (midnight) Monday to Sunday. The application requests an extension to 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and to 01:00 on Sundays. This represents a two-hour extension on Fridays and Saturdays and a one-hour extension on Sundays. They also want to amend the existing seasonal variation to any day preceding a bank holiday, New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, Valentine's Day from 02:00 to 02:30 for all existing activities, and add live music from 23:00 to 02:00 on Fridays and Saturdays and from 23:00 to 01:00 on Sundays. A seasonal variation for live music on any day preceding a bank holiday, New Year's Eve, Christmas Eve, Valentine's Day until 02:30 is also requested. The Full Variation Application Form - Redacted states that Fourteen87 Ltd intends to take steps to promote the four licensing objectives.

Fourteen87 Ltd states in their application that they intend to take the following steps:

We recognise that extending our opening hours to 2am on Fridays and Saturdays plus Sundays till 1am means taking extra care to protect the local community, our customers, and our staff. We have therefore put in place clear measures to maintain a safe, well-managed, and respectful environment. These include enhanced staff training, use of licensed security personnel, maintaining CCTV coverage throughout, and adopting a noise and dispersal policy to minimise disturbance to neighbours. We believe these steps will ensure that our premises continue to operate responsibly and in full support of the four licensing objectives.

According to the Public reports pack, the council received three representations, two from local residents and one from Councillor James-J Walsh, raising concerns about public nuisance and crime and disorder.

One resident, who lives in the same building as the venue, complained of noise nuisance, stating in the REDACTED Objections that the noise from music and customers has impacted their life and health. The resident also stated that they have complained to the Safer Communities Team on a number of occasions. Another resident expressed concerns about the overall noise along Catford Broadway, fearing that extended hours and live music at Fourteen87 would exacerbate the problem and disturb their quiet enjoyment of their property.

Councillor James-J Walsh, Rushey Green Councillor & Cabinet Member for Inclusive Regeneration & Planning, also submitted a representation, outlining concerns about the potential for the venue to cause significant harm to the quiet enjoyment of nearby residents and the possibility of further exacerbating issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in the locality. He requested that strong consideration be given to potential conditions to ameliorate the impact.

Councillor Walsh highlighted the flexible event space's capacity of approximately 80 persons, allowing it to shift between low-risk uses (private/family dining) and high-risk uses (ticketed, alcohol-led DJ/live music events). He also noted that the premises sits directly beneath residential flats on Catford Broadway, an area already identified as a hotspot for alcohol- and drug-related anti-social behaviour. Councillor Walsh stated that the council considered evidence from the council's 2022 to 2024 PSPO evidence packs to determine that Catford Broadway is a hotspot for alcohol- and drug-related anti-social behaviour. He noted that Rushey Green ward, and in particular Catford Broadway, ranks consistently among the worst-affected wards in Lewisham across every key dataset:

  • Police – Rowdy & Inconsiderate Behaviour: Catford Town Centre recorded the highest level of ASB in the borough.
  • Police – Drug-related offences: Rushey Green was in the top five wards for both trafficking and possession.
  • London Ambulance Service – Alcohol-related callouts: Rushey Green was among the top five wards for alcohol-related emergencies.
  • Council – Alcohol-related ASB complaints: Rushey Green was among the top three worst-affected wards.
  • Council – Drug-related ASB complaints: Rushey Green was among the top four wards.

To mitigate potential negative impacts, Councillor Walsh suggested a number of proposed conditions for Fourteen87, drawn directly from the Metropolitan Police's model conditions for high-risk venues, tailored to Fourteen87's specific circumstances. These include measures such as a maximum capacity of 80 persons, a proof-of-age scheme, comprehensive CCTV, SIA door supervision, and a written dispersal policy.

Beyond the conditions suggested by Councillor Walsh, the Agreed Conditions document lists the conditions agreed between the applicant and the police for Fresh from Yard. The applicant for Fourteen87 also offered conditions as an attachment under Section M of the Fourteen 87 7 Catford Broadway SE6 4SP report.

The Licensing Sub Committee D is responsible for considering all representations and taking steps to promote the licensing objectives, which include the prevention of crime and disorder, public safety, prevention of public nuisance, and protection of children from harm. The committee can grant the licence as applied for, modify the conditions, exclude licensable activities, refuse to specify a designated premises supervisor, or refuse to grant the application.

Both the applicant and those who submitted representations have the right to appeal the committee's decision to the Magistrates Court within 21 days of the decision letter.