Greenwich’s Borough Hall could get late licence under reopening plans

The new operators of Greenwich’s historic Borough Hall have applied for a 1am alcohol licence as they seek to put events on at the venue again.

The Greenwich Wire revealed in April that the council had secretly sold the building to a developer for £2.475 million. Lita Homes said in September that it was looking to turn it into a hotel.

In the meantime, the building is being used by an events company, Eden Group, which is applying for a late licence on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and an 11pm licence for the rest of the week.

The venue could be open until 2am on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights, and midnight on Sundays to Wednesdays, of the licence is approved.

Eight neighbours have objected, but the Metropolitan Police has not objected, instead asking for a guarantee that staff are trained in women’s safety.

The Borough Hall was the home of Greenwich Dance until 2018, when Greenwich Council asked it to leave so it could pursue plans to turn it into a cultural hub. However, those plans fell through and the building was put on the market, while Greenwich Dance went out of business a year ago.

Until Greenwich Dance moved out, the venue had an alcohol licence until 11pm and could open until 12.30am. A new block of flats has since opened opposite.

The Borough Hall, which contains two concert halls, was opened in 1939 and was part of the old Greenwich Town Hall. The council HQ became redundant after the old Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich merged with Woolwich in 1965 and part of it – including the clock tower – was sold off as offices in 1973. In March plans were approved to turn that part of the building into flats.

But the merged Greenwich Council hung onto the Borough Hall as a concert venue for many years – playing host to bands including Squeeze and Soft Machine –  before it became the home of Greenwich Dance in 1993. 

Councillors will discuss the licence application at a meeting next Friday. 

Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.