Macan Lounge licence revoked after repeated breaches

Lambeth Council has revoked the premises licence for Macan Lounge following repeated breaches of licensing objectives, including those related to public safety and public nuisance. The decision was made by the Licensing Sub-Committee on Thursday, March 12, 2026, after considering a review of the licence initiated by the licensing authority. The committee found that the venue had repeatedly failed to comply with its licence conditions.

Macan Lounge had been operating as a restaurant for three years. Prior to the licence revocation, the licence holder had received warnings regarding licensing compliance, but these had been ignored. Matthew Onakoya, a Commercial and Technical Officer for Environmental Health, noted that a warning was issued. Any repeat of such incident or offence would attract a formal enforcement procedure. ¹

During the review, evidence presented included CCTV footage and an inspection on November 29, 2025, which revealed breaches such as allowing open vessels of alcohol off the premises, vertical drinking in external areas, and customers remaining beyond permitted hours. The committee also heard that licensed SIA security personnel had not been engaged during DJ hours to monitor noise escape.

Representations were received from various parties, including the licensing authority, environmental health, the Metropolitan Police, and three residents. Residents described severe noise disturbances, public disorder, outside drinking, and drug use associated with the premises, impacting their quality of life. Residents mentioned witnessing drug use affiliated with Macan Lounge, with one stating, I've witnessed it with my own eyes, definitely affiliated with the with with Macken Lounge and that they've been open in the early hours. We've seen the pools happening. We've seen people, you know, urinating on our stairwell from Macken Lounge. It's it's definitely tied to that. Another resident noted, The drug use I referenced as well, that is, I've seen it multiple times. It's people who have drinks are, like, at the venue, coming in and out of the venue, like, repeatedly.

Mr. Bill Don, representing the licence holder, argued that the breaches were often linked to the use of Temporary Event Notices (TENs) for private parties, which he contended superseded licence conditions. These TENs were primarily used for birthday parties and celebrations, allowing trading until 3:00 AM. Mr. Don stated, the premises had operated as a restaurant for three years and that TENs had been used for birthday parties and celebrations, allowing trading until 3:00 AM. He suggested that revocation was too severe and proposed modifications to the hours. However, the committee was advised that TENs do not trump licence conditions and that the premises holder is responsible for upholding licensing objectives at all times.

The committee concluded that the venue's approach of using TENs to evade compliance demonstrated a material lack of awareness of responsibility. They also noted obstructive behaviour towards licensing officers during inspections further undermined the licensing objectives.

Consequently, the Licensing Sub-Committee determined that the licensing objectives of preventing crime and disorder, public safety, and preventing public nuisance were not being met. They decided to revoke the premises licence for Macan Lounge, with the decision to be communicated to the applicant within five working days, including details of any appeal process.