Sadiq Khan announces £500,000 fund to boost al fresco dining and vows to crackdown on NIMBYism with new licensing powers
Writing for LBC today, the Mayor says new powers will allow City Hall to fight NIMBYism
Sadiq Khan has announced £500,000 to boost al fresco dining in London and new powers to give City Hall greater control over licensing decisions.
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Fifteen projects across 13 boroughs will share nearly £500,000 to expand al fresco dining, outdoor events and later opening hours this summer and into autumn.
The move comes as City Hall’s new licensing powers come into force for the first time, giving the Mayor a formal role in licensing decisions across London as the Mayor vows to crackdown on NIMBYism in the capital.
Writing for LBC today, Sadiq Khan said the city’s late-night economy had for too long been treated like a “luxury”, rather as an “essential and extraordinary asset."
The London mayor also said the current system is “outdated, inconsistent and frankly illogical”, and argued that businesses looking to open or expand in London have faced a licensing system that is “incredibly difficult to navigate, and extremely costly”.
He also said licensing decisions have often been skewed towards “a handful of highly vocal residents” rather than the wider interests of Londoners, businesses and the capital’s economy.
He has described the new powers as a “genuinely once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild London’s night-time economy”.
The Summer Streets fund is part of that push, with large projects in Barking and Dagenham, Brent, Greenwich and Lambeth aiming to transform town centres with outdoor dining, markets, live performances and sports screenings.
Sadiq Khan said he wants London to have “the biggest ever summer for al fresco dining in the capital’s history”, adding that the he hopes the scheme would help give people “more reasons to get out and enjoy our city”.
He said the aim is not only to help businesses recover and grow, but also to protect the “soul” of London by making sure the city remains a place where people can socialise, work and enjoy themselves day and night.
Alongside this, the Mayor’s new Weekend Hopper offer means anyone travelling on buses and trams on a weekend between 25 July and 31 August will pay a single fare and get unlimited journeys across London that day.
Later this summer a test service of the new powers will begin when all licensing applications from across London will be sent to City Hall for the opportunity to provide formal comment.