A planned 5,000-capacity open-air events venue near the Thames Barrier risks causing a crowd crush at Charlton station, police have warned after its operators applied for a licence.
CW Bases Ltd has applied to Greenwich Council for a premises licence at the former Stone Foundries site off Woolwich Road that would host concerts, films and sporting events such as boxing and wrestling matches.
The company has already been involved with the Deptford Storehouse, a 5,000-capacity venue at Convoys Wharf used for an immersive theatre show last year, and Silverworks Island, a 20,000-capacity open-air venue across the Thames in the Royal Docks.
The venue would be situated on a concrete slab of land next to the old Stone Foundries warehouses, which closed after the land was sold to developers in 2019. There are longer-term plans to build a data centre on the site.
Police and Greenwich’s own licensing team have filed objections, along with the Hayatt Lounge, a nearby venue which feared that neighbours would blame it for increased noise.
An objection from the Metropolitan Police pointed out that Charlton station was unstaffed after 8pm with a limited number of trains after 11pm. The Met said that Southeastern had told the force that it may have to add extra trains after events “at a huge cost” and implement crowd control measures.
Police concluded that the majority of people relying on the strained rail services at Charlton would create a “foreseeable and significant risk of overcrowding, congestion, and loss of effective crowd control”, with a risk of “crush-related incidents”.
They foresaw a high likelihood of people queuing beyond the station into surrounding residential streets, overcrowding at station entrances and on platforms, and prolonged waiting times which would lead to “frustration among patrons”.
The council’s own licensing, community protection and environmental health teams also registered their concerns, particularly with the effect on nearby residents in Atlas and Derrick Gardens.
A Greenwich Council licensing sub-committee will consider the premises licence application on Tuesday.
Cameron Blackshaw is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich and Bexley. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media.
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