A new nightclub will be allowed to open at a South London venue which was shut down last year after an alleged rape inside the premises. Eddie Hanson, Deputy Mayor of Camden, had his application to open Vision Lounge on the Old Kent Road approved by Southwark councillors at a meeting on Thursday, despite opposition from local residents, the Met Police and the council’s own licensing team. Club 701, the previous venue to operate out of the building which is unrelated to Mr Hanson, was stripped of its licence by the council in February 2024 after an alleged rape there. The club was open without the correct authorisation at the time.
Residents told the licensing meeting that they had endured 10 years of disturbances from previous clubs operating out of the same premises, including crime, indecent exposure and unlicensed food vendors setting up barbecues in the street nearby to serve drunken customers. Pip Hayman, who spoke on behalf of a group of residents living near the venue, said: “When the nightclub [venue] goes into operation it really feels like residents in the area need to bolt down and prepare for an apocalypse-like environment. Drug taking has been a common problem… It’s quite common at 3am in the morning for residents to be woken up by someone vomiting against their window. We’ve also had instances of indecent exposure.”.
He added: “When the nightclub operates in this area you get different food vendors turn up with barbecues and they will sit at different points around the local area serving patrons coming in and out.”. Mark Lynch, from the local police’s licensing team, told councillors that the venue wasn’t suitable for a nightclub due to its location in a residential area and the history of antisocial behaviour and crime linked to previous clubs operating out of the building. Wesley McArthur, from the council’s own licensing team, told the meeting that the venue had been ‘a cause of complaint’ under various licences and managers for the last 20 years.
He said: “It’s a very hard property to manage. Nobody has lasted long there and every person who has taken over the premises has encountered problems or indeed caused problems.”. Eddie Hanson said he had invested thousands of pounds into the planned club and said he had 20 years of experience in the nightlife business as a promoter, manager and door picker. He added: “We appreciate our neighbours. We want to work with our neighbours. We want to ensure our neighbours are part of our journey.”.
Cllr Renata Hamvas, Chair of the Licensing Committee, said that she and fellow Labour councillors Ellie Cumbo and Sunny Lambe had ‘put faith’ in Mr Hanson to manage the premises effectively and not cause disruption to residents. The exact conditions of the licence will be published at a later date. Mr Hanson applied for the club to be allowed to open until 5am on weekends. Speaking after the meeting, Pip Hayman said he was disappointed with the councillors’ decision. He said: “What more could be presented to a group of Southwark councillors to make them realise that this is not an appropriate licence to be granted?”.
