Walthamstow church seeks alcohol license for community events

St Mary’s Walthamstow says it is looking for flexibility to exceed a current limit of 15 events per year that allow alcohol “if need be”, reports Sebastian Mann, Local Democracy Reporter

St Mary’s in Walthamstow has applied for a permanent license to serve alcohol in order to give the church “greater flexibility” on holding more community-focused events.

Waltham Forest venues can apply for 15 Temporary Events Notices (TENs) per year which allow them to sell alcohol, but St Mary’s says it has run up against this limit in recent years and is looking for flexibility to exceed that limit “if need be”.

If granted, the licence would allow St Mary’s to serve alcohol at events hosted in the church from midday until 10.30pm.

Being allowed to sell alcohol from 12pm would facilitate “low-key daytime” events such as markets or fetes, the church says, where stall-holders could sell drinks to drink either on the grounds or for customers to take home.

St Mary’s communication officer Cameron Conant told the Echo: “All alcohol is served responsibly at St Mary’s and can involve, for example, something as simple as a local choir selling glasses of wine to those attending a concert in order raise additional funds or in order to meet the costs of putting on the event itself.”

In the past twelve months St Mary’s has hosted two live recordings of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Gardeners’ Question Time’, several Christmas performances by the Norrsang Swedish choir, a performance by the East London Brass Band, a screening of the Chris Packham climate emergency film People’s Emergency Briefing, multiple Forest Choir concerts, a craft fair, a screening of the Walthamstow documentary film Power Station followed by a discussion with the filmmakers, and more.

Cameron added: “We have no plans to drastically exceed 15 events per year with alcohol – in fact, residents will see virtually no change in our programming – we simply would like flexibility which we currently do not have but which this licensing change would allow for.”

He continued: “Running a bar at certain events allows us to raise much needed funds – and allows other local organisations to raise much-needed money.”

St Mary’s has a history of adhering to council-issued temporary event notices, but the proposals have been met with concern by some locals.

A resident of the neighbouring Monoux Almshouses said the potential frequency of the events could “reduce our privacy [and] peace of mind”.

“The music/noise of such a gathering will penetrate our homes at Monoux Almshouses, which are direct neighbours to St Mary’s Church,” she said.

She suggested the council granted an alcohol licence for weekends only, while Waltham Forest’s licensing team proposed six conditions to minimise the risks of public nuisance and disorder.

They include maintaining a refusals book to record every time a customer is refused alcohol and ensuring all staff selling drinks receive training on preventing underage sales and how to refuse drunk customers.

The application will go before the council’s licensing committee – made up of three elected councillors – on Friday, 11th September.

Editor’s note (08/09): This article has been updated with context and comment from St Mary’s Walthamstow about the reason for their licensing application

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