A South London bar has been ordered to shut its doors for a month by the local authority after a series of incidents including door staff allegedly being paid to allow “gang members to bring in guns”.
Greenwich Council has suspended the licence of Hayatt Lounge, a shisha lounge with a bar and restaurant on Westmoor Street in Charlton.
The decision was published by the local authority last week, after being discussed at a meeting on July 26.
Police constable Mark Evans said at the meeting that there was “very reliable” evidence from the police’s intelligence unit that criminal activity was taking place in the venue until recently.
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He said gang members were allegedly paying the bar’s door staff in order to not have security checks carried out.
PC Evans said: “There are gangs who are entering the premises, that are paying the [door staff] to enter the premises, using the premises for criminal activity i.e. selling of drugs whilst inside the premises, the bringing in of firearms, the bringing in of potential weapons such as knives.”
Gemma Creamer, general manager of Hayatt Lounge, said at the meeting that “almost any” venue in London could host individuals suspected of disorder or being in gangs.
She said Hayatt Lounge had since taken additional steps to ensure the safety of guests, including bag and body searches using metal detectors and requiring every person entering to have their ID scanned.
Ms Creamer said: “As a business, we prioritise the safety of our customers in this premises, and we do all that we can to ensure every individual coming into this premises is safe from the start, from when they come in, to when they leave.”
The general manager there was little evidence behind a lot of the allegations that had been made against the bar during the meeting.
She added that she would not be involved with the business if she had any knowledge of drugs being dealt in the bar.
The licence for the venue was reviewed after a series of incidents in June this year. James Rankin, legal representative for the Met Police, said that a “disproportionate” number of events had brought Hayatt Lounge to the attention of the police.
This included a “large-scale fight” on June 10 which, according to Mr Rankin, saw the premises “losing control” of its own site.
Mr Rankin said: “The customers are raining blows on each other. The shisha pipes are being used as weapons, the shisha bowls are being used as weapons and it’s perfectly clear that customers are being assaulted as well.”
He added: “The next incident is June 18 2023 where a brandy bottle was dashed into the face of a lady customer, shattering and she was then slashed across the eyebrow with the shards, causing a one inch laceration… No calls were made to the London Ambulance Service by the premises and the victim had to make her own way to hospital where she then made a subsequent complaint.”
Mr Rankin said a further assault at the venue happened on June 20, when a fight between two women led to one receiving a bruised head and bites on her breast.
Regarding the June 10 incident, Ms Creamer said the situation was “out of control on a temporary basis”, and that the individuals involved were permanently banned from the venue following numerous door staff getting involved to diffuse the situation.
The general manager said the venue had switched to using electric shishas following the incident.
She said she disagreed with the allegation that a bottle of Hennessy was used to attack a customer on June 18, but admitted that the situation could have been handled better by the venue.
Ms Creamer added: “I do want to highlight that an incident like that has not been seen to take place before at such a high level, and these incidents on the 18 and 20 are also isolated incidents that haven’t taken place before.”
The licensing committee said in its decision that the licence of Hayatt Lounge would be suspended for a month.
They also said the current designated premises supervisor for the venue must be removed, as well as imposing additional conditions to the licence such as digital cameras at the entrance and metal detectors.
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Picture 1: The inside of Hayatt Lounge in Charlton, Greenwich. Permission for use by all LDRS partners. Credit: Greenwich Council
Picture 2: Hayatt Lounge as seen on Westmoor Street in Charlton, Greenwich. Permission for use by all LDRS partners. Credit: Greenwich Council
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