Wendy’s has won permission to stay open late in a South London crime hotspot, with high levels of violence against women, despite concerns from the Met Police. Kingston Council partly granted the fast food chain’s application to extend its opening hours at its branch on Eden Street, in Kingston town centre, in a new report.
Wendy’s had applied to stay open as late as 2am on the weekends, but the council’s Licensing Committee instead extended its opening hours to 12am on Sundays to Thursdays, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. The report said the granted hours followed council policy and could be reviewed if there were any problems.
It comes after Police Sergeant Jeremy Weston objected to the plans in a letter, describing Eden Street as “an area with a high incidence of violent crime”, ahead of a licensing hearing on May 20. He said the latest report from the South West Basic Command Unit (BCU) showed the town centre continued to be a hotspot for violence against women and girls, with 21 such offences occurring in the 12 weeks up to March 25, 2024.
PS Weston said: “The late-night presence of customers, particularly in a fast-food establishment, often leads to increased crime and ASB [antisocial behaviour], which would negatively influence the area and undermine all of the MPS operations as described being conducted in the area already.
“Extending these hours would also attract individuals who may have been consuming alcohol in nearby licensed premises, increasing the risk of disorderly behaviour and public nuisance. This is particularly concerning given the area’s existing challenges with ASB and violent crime.”
He told the hearing that, “with eight years experience policing Kingston town centre, it will be another venue open late, [attracting] young people, predators, where they will sit, loiter, and it will cause issues”.
Barrister Edmund Garnett, representing the Met, added officers had “a real and continuing concern that the provision of late-night fast food in the way that it’s been envisaged in the application would contribute to the ongoing problems with antisocial behaviour and crime in the area”.
But Luke Atkins, District Manager for Wendy’s, said the restaurant would put measures in place to address the Met’s concerns, and it was open to any other suggestions. He said CCTV covering the branch’s internal and external areas would keep people safe, while staff would get extra training and there would be at least two security guards manning the venue at night.
Mr Atkins added: “We understand our duty to the community as we seek to extend our operating hours. Our top priority is the safety and wellbeing of our customers, our restaurant team members and our neighbours. We believe that our current, and the proposed, procedures are thorough and they align with the full licensing objectives.”
The committee’s report said it decided not to allow Wendy’s to stay open until 2am on the weekends, so that it did not have the same closing hours as venues opposite.
The report said: “The Licensing Sub-Committee noted the opening hours of the nearby fast food establishments and especially that opposite the premises and considered the risk of the same closing hours causing both sets of customers to leave premises at the same time, resulting in cumulative impact and considered staggered closing times would mitigate such concerns and risk.
“Concern or dispute or more likely increased numbers seeking to leave both premises at the same time and source transport links home or elsewhere and potentially remaining in the town centre rather than moving on was also a concern that could give rise to increased cumulative impact.”
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