Several big late-night venues in the capital have faced licensing reviews following residential complaints, reports Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

Sir Sadiq Khan has downplayed suggestions that Nimbyism is impacting London’s nightlife, saying that “a venue closing at 10pm can sometimes be good for us”.

The mayor argued that Londoners’ “lifestyles have changed” in the wake of the pandemic, while insisting that City Hall had made changes to planning policy to reduce “tensions” between residents and venues.

Khan’s comments came after he launched a new nightlife taskforce on Tuesday (4th), comprising eleven industry experts who will spend the next six months investigating the struggling sector’s “challenges and opportunities”.

The mayor has appointed Cameron Leslie, co-founder and director of the nightclub Fabric, to chair the group – which includes ten other industry experts.

The taskforce’s launch comes after the mayor’s night czar, Amy Lamé, resigned in October 2024 after eight years in the role – though the group’s creation had in fact been promised some months earlier, in Khan’s re-election manifesto.

Over the next six months, the mayor’s new taskforce will “meet regularly to examine and address the challenges and opportunities facing London’s ever-evolving nightlife,” City Hall said. The group is also expected to take a decision on whether a successor should be found for Lamé, or whether the night czar role should be abolished.

“London’s nightlife industries are vital to the success of our capital, but, as with other cities across the country, they have faced a huge range of challenges in recent years,” said Khan.

“The rising cost of living and operational costs, shifts in consumer behaviour, staffing shortages and licensing issues have all been hitting businesses hard. I’m determined to do all I can to work alongside our nighttime industries, which is why I’ve brought together this independent taskforce of experts to examine and address the opportunities and issues facing the industry.

“Their expertise and unparalleled knowledge garnered from years of working across a range of nighttime industries will help to inform and develop our collective efforts to support nightlife, as we continue to build a better London for everyone.”

Leslie said he was “delighted” to have been appointed to lead the new body. “This group that has come together, represents some of the best of what London has to offer, across an incredibly broad spectrum,” he said. “We are all excited about the future of nightlife in our wonderful city, and are also acutely aware of the stark challenges we face.”

However, night venue owners and business groups have warned over recent years that licensing decisions in many London boroughs are too prohibitive, and have forced pubs and clubs to close earlier than they would like.

Jeremy Joseph, owner of G-A-Y Bar in Old Compton Street, said in a recent Instagram post that he had considered applying to extend the venue’s licence to 3am, but concluded “what’s the point when I know Soho Society will object, police licensing [officers] will object, EHO [environmental health officers] will object”.

In November 2024, the Globe pub in Marylebone had extra conditions imposed on it by Westminster Council after a man living nearby repeatedly complained about “faint giggles and murmuring” from customers preventing him falling asleep.

And in 2022, the bakery chain Greggs was refused permission to open a 24-hour shop in Leicester Square. The Met Police claimed it could add to “crime and disorder” in the area, and a local resident said it would “encourage intoxicated patrons of this retailer lingering in the vicinity late at night”. After Greggs threatened to appeal the decision in court, the bakery was allowed to stay open until midnight on Sunday to Wednesday, and until 2am on Thursday to Saturday.

Asked whether Nimbys – people who object to planning or licensing applications on the basis of ‘not in my back yard’ – are curtailing London’s nightlife, the mayor implied the issue was more complex.

“I don’t think it’s a question of Nimbyism,” said Khan. “What it is, is often you have a new development built next to a pre-existing nightclub, and the residents may complain about the noise.

“So what we’ve done to address that is we’ve brought in – in our London Plan – what’s called the agent of change rule. So if you have a new development next to an existing night-time venue, the new developer should pay for insulation in that venue, to avoid them [their residents] being disturbed by the nightclub or the pub that does live music, or whatever.

“We’ve got to understand that in a city like London, the capital city, we’ve got to have residents that live a peaceful, good life, but also businesses, particularly the nighttime businesses as well.”

The mayor admitted: “There is sometimes a tension though between residents who are concerned about the nighttime economy [and venues].”

He added that twelve London councils now have bespoke nighttime strategies and that City Hall has been supporting boroughs by creating nighttime enterprise zones and helping them with “business-friendly licensing programmes”.

Asked if he accepted that many venues feel they are not able to open as late as they would like, Khan said: “What I’ve just been told is, actually, customers’ patterns have changed as well. Many of us go to work the next day, and so actually, a venue closing at 10 is sometimes good for us.”

The mayor added: “People’s lifestyles have changed. That’s one of the things the taskforce will look into – how, post-pandemic, people’s lifestyles have changed.

“You’ve heard the phrase ‘Thursday is the new Friday’, for example. More and more people now work from home on different days of the week, so our suburbs have changed.

“We’ve had new venues opening in Haringey, in Peckham, in Hackney – not quite in zone one, and that’s an example of how people’s lifestyles have changed.”

Emma Best, deputy leader of City Hall Conservatives, said: “While we welcomed the creation of a taskforce, I can’t help but think that many of the members of this taskforce have already been screaming the answers at the mayor for years.

“We could surely sharpen this process and start taking meaningful action before six months pass. My industry-led report on fixing London’s nightlife saw businesses from across our city come together to identify solutions which the mayor has not actioned.

“It is now up to him to show he is not just paying lip service to this issue and is actually ready to finally take meaningful action.”

Michael Kill, CEO of the Night-Time Industries Association and a member of the new taskforce said: “As the nighttime economy continues to evolve, we must recognise that a truly 24-hour city is not just about later opening hours—it’s about creating a diverse and sustainable night time culture.

“While consumer habits are shifting, we cannot ignore the impact of licensing restrictions, rising costs, and the challenges venues face in operating successfully. Policy shifts like the agent of change principle are a positive step, but more needs to be done to ensure venues are not just surviving, but thriving.

“If London is to compete on a global stage, we need stronger support for nightlife, better infrastructure, and a real commitment to protecting and growing our night time economy.”

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