For too long, London has been held back by joyless NIMBYs. This summer, we're breaking free, writes Sadiq Khan

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My stance has been overwhelmingly welcomed by Londoners, businesses and visitors alike, many of them shocked that such a small group of residents could hold local businesses and the capital’s economy hostage.

Some, though, went further still – asking why, as Mayor, I didn't have the powers to stop them. It’s a fair question. Londoners and businesses are rightly fed up with watching NIMBYs get their way. But, after years of lobbying I am pleased that new laws are coming into force today that give City Hall a formal say on licensing decisions across the capital. Positive change is finally coming.

London’s bars, clubs, live music venues and pubs are the beating heart of our global city, bringing communities together and filling our streets with life and laughter.

The capital’s late-night industries play a vital role supporting more than a million jobs and contributing over £139 billion to our national economy every year.

Yet, for decades, an outdated, inconsistent and frankly illogical licensing system has treated London’s nightlife like a luxury, rather than recognising it for the essential and extraordinary asset it is.

Today, licensing in London is managed by the city’s 33 different local authorities, each of which takes a different approach.

For businesses looking to open or expand in London, this complex system is incredibly difficult to navigate, and extremely costly.

The fractured nature of London’s licensing landscape also creates a fundamental contradiction. Right now, licensing decisions which could make or break a business and our city’s nightlife are often skewed towards the interests of a handful of highly vocal residents in the immediate vicinity, without considering the effects on London’s wider economy and culture.

If those residents wish to block a pub or club from opening, they’ll be pushing against an open door. Until now, and much to my frustration, the default answer in our system has always been ‘no’.

People with the time and money to block licensing applications have all the power, while businesses and Londoners who are busy getting on with their lives pay the price.

Whether they live in Soho or the suburbs, this myopic approach risks making all Londoners worse off. In a country where almost a million 16-24-year-olds aren’t in education, employment or training, failure to stop the decline of London’s hospitality and nightlife would be a betrayal of all the hardworking young people who rely on it not just for their enjoyment, but for their jobs.

Yet a stronger economy isn’t the only prize up for grabs – the soul of our busy, boisterous city is at stake, too. If the Soho Society had shut down the Marquee club back in 1972, the Police or the Sex Pistols might never have made it big. It’s devastating to think about all the talented musicians today who – without places to play – might never get the same chance to fulfil their potential.

And the hundreds of thousands of Londoners over the years who would never have got a job, or the millions of Londoners and visitors would have missed out on a great night and lifelong memories.

In my time as Mayor, I've done everything in my limited power to keep the capital's cultural and community spaces open.

In the last decade, my team at City Hall have backed more than 1,500 grassroots venues, artists’ studios, LGBTQIA+ spaces, pubs, music venues and community hubs.

But, if these places are to truly flourish, my team and I must be given the powers to properly support them. New laws coming into force today will begin to do just that, giving City Hall a formal say in how licensing decisions are made for the very first time.

From later this year, I’m hoping to have the power to decide some of the most important licensing applications being considered by London’s local authorities, too.

This is a genuinely once-in-a-generation opportunity to rebuild London’s night-time economy, and I intend to seize it.

That’s why I have published a bold plan to overhaul London's licensing system, supporting businesses and ensuring that local authorities consider the many benefits of nightlife in every decision they make.

Right now the plan is in draft, and we're carefully considering the responses to our consultation – but Londoners can expect to hear more later this summer.

For an idea of where this could lead, just look at the success of my Summer Streets scheme. Last year, funding from City Hall helped four boroughs to transform their streets into buzzing destinations for outdoor ‘al fresco’ dining in the sunshine.

From Brixton and Leyton to Shoreditch and the West End, London came alive – the capital's small businesses did a roaring trade, with visitor numbers and spending soaring.

This year, we’re doing it again. As football fever takes the capital by storm, Londoners will be able to come together to dine, drink, and dance everywhere from Barking to Wembley and Waterloo.

With World Cup and Wimbledon screenings in Woolwich, too, they’ll be able to unite to enjoy some of the summer's very best sporting action.

In London's licensing debate, these precious moments of shared joy are on the line. We must choose what kind of city we want London to become - a place where the rules which govern public space serve the common good, or a society where they serve private interests of the privileged few who – after moving to the middle of one of the world’s great megacities – now want to complain about the noise.

The London I know and love is a place where, day and night, there is fun to be found, excitement to be had, and friends to be met. But for far too long, our city has been shackled by the whims of joyless NIMBYs. No longer. This summer, we're beginning to break free.

We won’t just breathe new life into London’s night-time economy - we’ll ensure that it’s truly befitting of the greatest city in the world.

Sadiq Khan is the Labour Mayor of London.

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