Resident group’s objections to bar and restaurant licences ‘destroying Soho’s reputation’

The Soho Society claims the area in London’s West End has seen an intensification of nightlife and unacceptable noise, as well as crime and litter caused by a proliferation of late-night revellers. Photograph: fotoVoyager/Getty Images/iStockphoto

A society of residents funded by the council could “destroy Soho’s reputation on the international stage” as London’s entertainment district by ferociously objecting to all new bar and restaurant licences, operators in the area have said.

The Soho Society, a group of residents established in 1972 aimed at “preserving the character of Soho”, voted in its AGM on Thursday for a new licensing mandate, meaning it will challenge all new applications for bars and restaurants in the area, including renewals of existing licences. It will also object to any venue that wishes to open beyond “core hours”, which Westminster council decrees end at 11pm.