City of London councillors have approved amendments to the terrace hours at 1 Silk Street, following a meeting of the Planning Applications Sub-Committee on Wednesday, 8 July 2026. The committee agreed to amend the hours for terraces to 8:00 PM, a change initially proposed by Alderman Elizabeth King.
Alderman King expressed concern that 10 pm is too late in a residential area for something up high that's going to have a noise impact that we can't anticipate at this time.
Marianne Fredericks also voiced concerns about noise travelling and affecting residents, drawing parallels to issues in her own ward. The committee also discussed the potential noise impact on the nearby Barbican Arts Centre and Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
The change in terrace hours specifically mentions the top floor terrace
and private events, corporate events,
which would likely affect establishments operating in these capacities, such as restaurant units
and flexible retail/service/food and beverage uses (Class E(a)-(c))
.
Residents had raised concerns about noise impact, light pollution, and the accuracy of data submitted by the applicant regarding the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. For 1 Silk Street, concerns were also raised about noise and amenity impacts from on-site concrete crushing and servicing hours. The committee addressed these by debating motions and seeking reassurance from officers and environmental health. The concrete crushing was agreed to be moved off-site, and servicing hours were made more restrictive than previously proposed, with a motion to bring forward the no servicing hours from 11 pm to 9 pm narrowly defeated.
The meeting information does not explicitly state the anticipated impact on businesses. However, discussions around servicing and terrace hours suggest potential impacts on the operational flexibility of establishments that rely on these times for deliveries or customer use of outdoor spaces. The amendment to bring forward the no servicing hours from 11 pm to 9 pm was narrowly defeated, indicating a consideration of business needs versus residential amenity.
Further details on the meeting proceedings and reports can be found in the Information Pack and the Public reports pack for the 08th July 2026 Planning Applications Sub-Committee meeting.