JD Wetherspoon has been granted permission by Westminster City Council to open a new pub at One Paddington Square, adjacent to Paddington Tube Station in west London.
The venue will provide space for 238 customers, with seating on the ground floor and a mezzanine level for additional capacity. Three existing vacant retail units will be combined to create the new pub.
Licensing approval and opening hours
Westminster City Council decided to grant JD Wetherspoon permission for the venue at a Licensing Sub-Committee on Thursday (October 29). The pub will be open to the public between 6.30am and midnight from Sunday to Wednesday, and between 6.30am and 12.30am from Thursday to Saturday.
Alcohol will be sold between 8am and 11pm from Sunday to Wednesday, and between 8am and midnight from Thursday to Saturday.
Early alcohol sales and employment
Legal Director for the applicant, Nigel Connor, said the early alcohol sales were included because some customers liked to enjoy a drink with their breakfast. He added: "We won't serve people who are intoxicated. We monitor people's consumption. We don't serve anybody obviously who's under the age of 18."
Connor noted that "it was actually easy to apply those policies at that [earlier] time because so few people actually are drinking." He also said there was "no proposal at this stage for an outdoor area."
The pub is expected to generate employment for between 100 and 120 full and part-time staff. Three objections, including one from Environmental Health, were withdrawn before the hearing after the applicant agreed to amend its hours of operation.
