A Lambeth off-licence faces a review of its premises licence due to ongoing concerns about crime and disorder. The Metropolitan Police Service has requested a review of Payless, located at 322 Kennington Lane, citing incidents including staff acting as aggressors in a violent altercation with patrons, the use of weapons, and multiple breaches of existing licence conditions.
The police are seeking to reduce the hours during which Payless can conduct licensable activities from 24 hours a day to between 11:00 AM and 1:00 AM daily. This request follows earlier interventions, including a voluntary variation in February 2025 that introduced 21 additional conditions, which the police state have not sufficiently addressed the issues.
According to PC Dave Watson, who submitted the review application on behalf of the Metropolitan Police, intelligence suggests that individuals suspected of involvement in criminal activity, specifically violent crime, robberies and thefts
, regularly attend the premises between 01:00 and 09:00. The police believe that these individuals either purchase alcohol for themselves or lead potential victims to the premises to perpetuate their crimes, and that the 24-hour sale of alcohol contributes to crime and disorder in the Vauxhall area.
Incidents cited by the police include an intoxicated individual being served alcohol at 8:00 AM who later became involved in a violent incident. CCTV footage from November 2025 reportedly showed Payless staff acting as aggressors in a violent altercation with patrons, including the use of weapons. Following this incident on 29 November 2025, the Designated Premises Supervisor (DPS) conceded that the actions of the staff fell way short of what is expected to promote the licensing objectives and advised that he had subjected both members of staff to 'final warning' and confirmed that both staff were still employed and work at the premises.
A subsequent inspection in January 2026 identified multiple breaches of licence conditions, which were accepted by the Designated Premises Supervisor.
No representations were received from other parties regarding the review application. The meeting information explicitly states, No representations were received from other parties
regarding the licence review application for Payless. The premises licence for Payless currently authorises the supply of alcohol and opening hours from midnight to 11:59 PM daily.
Read the full public reports pack for the Licensing Sub-Committee meeting here: Public reports pack Thursday 16-Jul-2026 19.00 Licensing Sub-Committee.pdf