People living near the soon to be revamped Olympia Exhibition Centre site are opposing proposals to give late licences to two nearby hotels.
Licences for the National and Emberton House hotels, which are described as being key to the £1.3billion scheme, are due to be decided by Hammersmith and Fulham Council on Wednesday April 17.
The hotels, to be run by CitizenM and Hyatt and which will have 350 rooms between them, want to sell alcohol around the clock to residents and “bona fide guests”, and from 7am to midnight for non-residents.
But the plans have been criticised by locals with one telling planners late opening “will incur noise, traffic and potential anti-social behaviour”.
They added: “The proposed opening hours are too extended and will create disruption to the rest and sleep of local residents from the people coming in and out of the venues, drivers and taxi services. The number of venues MUST be restricted and none of the licensed venues should operate beyond 10pm as per the nearby Westfield Shopping Center.”
Another said the requested hours would “create disruption to the rest and sleep of local residents”, partly due to the movement of people visiting the site.
“I find [it] extremely inconsiderate that Olympia are applying for such antisocial hours when they should be well aware of the rights and needs of local residents – which have been expressed many times at consultation meetings,” they wrote.
Due to be completed next year, the redevelopment will see the exhibition site turned into a major new arts and events space. The plans, approved by the council in 2019, include a 4,400-capacity live music venue, a new theatre, a Wetherby performing arts school and 14 restaurants and bars, plus office space.
Planning documents show no major concerns were raised either by the local authority’s licensing team or the Met Police.
A spokesperson for Olympia said: “The arrival of two hotels at Olympia is a real positive for West London. It echoes our strong vision for how we can support Olympia’s heritage of hosting events that have helped drive the economy and entertained visitors for the last 138 years.
“It will be a huge boost to event organisers and their customers, as well as the visitors that we host. Both hotel operators are well-established and reputable and have experience managing hotels in residential areas and busy cities. In addition, we are building a world-class operational team to carefully manage the wider estate to keep any disruption to our neighbours to a minimum.”
The Olympia Exhibition Centre opened in 1886, and has hosted famous events including the First Great Horse Show, the Ideal Home Show, and London Comic Con.
