A bid to sell alcohol from Maramia restaurant during Notting Hill Carnival has been refused by Kensington and Chelsea Council's Licensing Sub-Committee. The decision was made due to concerns that the proposed external alcohol sales would undermine licensing objectives related to the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety.
The application for a Temporary Event Notice (TEN) sought permission to sell alcohol on and off the premises at 48 Golborne Road on Sunday, August 30, and Monday, August 31, 2026. The application was opposed by the Metropolitan Police and the council's Noise and Nuisance team.
PC Mark Perry of the Metropolitan Police argued that the proposed external alcohol sales would create an unacceptable risk of overcrowding and disorder. He highlighted that Golborne Road is a 'heavily congested area' and a 'busy thoroughfare' during the carnival, acting as a link between Portobello Road and the main carnival route. Stalls and serving points on the street create bottlenecks and pinch points, reducing the space for people to move safely and potentially leading to panic, crushing, or disorder,
PC Perry stated. The police noted that they have objected to other TENs with similar external sales proposals due to increased risk.
Philip Richardson from the Noise and Nuisance team echoed these concerns, emphasizing the public safety implications of exacerbating existing congestion. He presented images showing street traders and parked cars in the vicinity, arguing that the proposed serving point would further narrow the already congested footway. Mr. Richardson also noted past issues with Maramia regarding noise nuisance, stating that the council had previously served legal notices and taken enforcement action. He recalled that during the World Cup, there were issues with illegal items on the road and the road being completely blocked. While he couldn't recall if the enforcement action was specifically tied to a TEN, he confirmed significant noise and nuisance problems in recent years, with the team being close to taking them to prosecution. Legal notices, enforcement notices, and fixed penalty notices had been served.
While the applicant's representative submitted a risk assessment and event management plan outlining measures to manage queues internally and pause sales if congestion developed, the police and noise and nuisance team maintained these were insufficient. These measures included serving alcohol only from within the premises, managing queues internally, pausing sales if congestion developed, encouraging customers to move on promptly, continuous monitoring of pedestrian flow, suspending trading if crowd density became unsafe, operating a strict Challenge 25 policy, refusing sales to intoxicated persons, ensuring emergency routes were kept clear, using only non-breakable containers for alcohol service, having a designated duty manager responsible for compliance, and maintaining an incident recording system. The applicant's representative also stated that alcohol would only be sold from within the premises, customers would not be permitted to queue on the public highway, and a clearly managed queuing system would be in place within the premises. Sales could be temporarily paused if crowd density became unsafe.
PC Mark Perry had previously stated that the applicant could have applied to have the serving of alcohol inside the premises, which would have greatly reduced their concerns and potentially led to an agreement. This suggests that alternative proposals, such as focusing sales entirely within the restaurant, could have been considered.
Councillor Greg Hammond, Chair of the Licensing Sub-Committee, announced the decision to issue a counter notice, meaning the TEN was not approved. The committee concluded that granting the application as proposed would undermine the prevention of crime and disorder and public safety licensing objectives.
Kensington and Chelsea Council's Statement of Licensing Policy advises applicants for TENs within the Notting Hill Carnival 'footprint' to demonstrate how their proposed activity would support licensing objectives and not adversely impact emergency services. The policy expects details on crowd control, stewarding, security arrangements, and draft risk assessments and event management plans. For alcohol sales during Carnival, the policy expects details on age verification and the types of vessels to be used, noting that the sale of alcohol from glass containers would likely lead to objections. TENs for Carnival are expected to be submitted at least 12 weeks in advance. The applicant's representative mentioned that Maramia had operated for approximately 24 years during Notting Hill Carnival without significant incident or licensing concerns, which was presented as a demonstration of their ability to manage conditions responsibly.
