Westminster’s Draft Licensing Policy Sparks Row Over “Vertical Drinking” in West End Pubs
Westminster City Council has proposed new licensing guidance that would discourage “vertical drinking” in pubs and bars across Soho and the West End, prompting a sharp rebuke from the Mayor of London and divided reaction across the hospitality sector.
The draft policy, currently under consultation, calls for venues to reduce the amount of open bar space used for standing drinkers and instead encourage more seating, with orders taken via table service rather than at the bar. Under the proposals, food and drink sales would generally be handled by waiting staff rather than through traditional over-the-bar service.
Sadiq Khan has strongly criticised the draft policy, describing it as symptomatic of licensing rules that work against the interests of the night-time economy. A City Hall spokesperson said restrictive approaches to licensing were failing operators at a time when venues most needed backing, and pointed to new powers due to be granted to the Mayor’s office that would allow City Hall to call in local licensing decisions and have greater input into policy affecting London’s hospitality and nightlife sectors.
Licensing lawyer Philip Kolvin raised concerns that the policy could undermine the traditional character of the British pub. Speaking to The Guardian, he argued that standing at the bar is itself a form of socialising, allowing customers to mix freely rather than remaining fixed within the group they arrived with, and suggested the approach risked running counter to pubs’ role in fostering community connection.
Sacha Lord, formerly Greater Manchester’s Night-Time Economy Adviser under Mayor Andy Burnham, is highly critical of the move, accusing Westminster of taking an unusually hostile stance toward hospitality businesses compared with other UK authorities, and likening the restrictions to pandemic-era rules.
Westminster oversees one of the country’s densest concentrations of licensed premises, with roughly 500 pubs alone across Soho, Covent Garden, Mayfair and the wider West End, forming part of a borough-wide total of around 4,000 licensed venues.
Tim Barnes, Westminster’s deputy leader and cabinet member for growth and planning, rejected suggestions that the council intends to outlaw standing in pubs, calling such claims a misreading of the draft guidance based on selectively quoted clauses. He said the intention was to help venues manage customer flow so that pavements outside premises do not become overcrowded and so that excessive drinking does not create disturbance for others nearby.
Barnes pointed to the council’s Cumulative Impact Zone policy, an established framework already used to manage licensing in areas of high activity, alongside London-wide planning considerations set by the Mayor’s office.
He stressed that every licensing application is assessed on its individual merits, noting that new venues continue to open in Westminster, including a recently approved extension allowing the Leicester Square McDonald’s to trade 24 hours a day, a decision granted despite objections raised by the Mayor’s police representatives.
The council said it rejects fewer than 1.5% of licence applications and wants to see a thriving, profitable hospitality sector across the borough. Barnes added that Westminster remains willing to work with the Mayor’s office on licensing matters and highlighted a newly launched council campaign promoting nights out in Soho.
The draft policy remains open for consideration, with further debate expected as the council weighs feedback from operators, industry bodies and City Hall.