Central London getting new Wetherspoon pub next to major Tube and National Rail station

Westminster City Council’s Licensing Committee granted the chain a licence to open a venue on The Strand, next to Charing Cross Station, until 11.30pm, Monday to Thursday and until midnight on Friday and Saturday, according to a recent decision. The pub, which is set to accommodate up to 320 customers, will be open to the public until 10.30pm on Sundays.

The site was formerly home to a retail unit and café. In June, Wetherspoon won an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate to run the site as a pub. The application, which requested the use of the upper and lower ground floors as a pub with food, was previously refused by Westminster City Council in April 2024.

After reviewing the case, the Planning Inspectorate said there were no “material considerations” which should stop the site being used as a pub.

A written statement by the chain said the venue will operate as a traditional JD Wetherspoon pub with no music or similar entertainment. They pointed out other Wetherspoon pubs subject to the same conditions in other busy areas like The Montagu Pyke on Charing Cross Road and The Moon Under Water in Leicester Square.

Entry and exit will be from the Charing Cross Station forecourt with the Craven Street entrance only being used as a fire escape, heeding concerns from worried residents. There will be no consumption of food or drink, or the placing of tables and chairs, outside. Off-sales of food and drink will not be permitted.

It was felt that the location of the venue next to a major railway station will help with the dispersal of customers at closing time.

A number of people had objected to the licence, and as such a series of conditions were imposed on Wetherspoon. Waste collections and deliveries cannot take place between 8pm and 8am, and for the first six weeks after opening, bouncers must be on duty when the pub is open to the public. After that, a minimum of two bouncers should be on duty past 6pm.

Security staff will be used anytime they are required, beyond the initial six-week period, based on risk assessments. When security staff are not on duty, a manager will be placed at the entrance to greet customers and make sure they don’t take drinks outside.

Signs will also be erected in any area used for smoking, asking patrons to respect the needs of local residents and use the area quietly.

Objectors say the area already suffers from crime and antisocial behaviour. They said residents have already made numerous reports to Westminster City Council about drunken shouting and singing late at night, damage to vehicles and private property, litter, and people urinating and defecating on private doorsteps, by customers who have come from other premises in the area.

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