A Kingston café can sell booze until midnight on weekends after a resident called for the neighbourhood to become a nighttime destination to rival Central London. Kingston Council granted changes to the opening hours for 601PM on New Malden High Street after being told the venue had no intention of causing inconvenience to neighbours at an earlier hearing in March.

601PM is now allowed to stay open and sell booze until 11pm on Sundays to Thursdays and until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. It can also play live music until 10pm.

Kingston resident Dakota Langhals told the council's licensing committee on March 13 several high street venues are trying to open later and have "more of an energetic vibe". He urged the committee to approve the plans "because New Malden needs to turn into a night-time destination for residents".

Mr Langhals said: "I think we want our area to be attractive to people who want to live and enjoy the nightlife that Kingston has to offer… I'm not originally from London and where I am from places are usually open quite a bit later than they are here. 

"The biggest frustration I have about living in London is that things close so early unless you live in Central London. I personally would like to see more options available to enjoy where I live without having to take a 40-minute train ride late at night. 

"I know that you've probably heard from other residents that noise issues are a big concern and, you know, fair enough but also this is a high street location and I think it's reasonable for high street locations to have some diminishing considerations when it comes to noise. I think if you choose to live on a high street, you should expect a certain degree of activity and noise."

The committee later ruled the new hours were "appropriate" for the high street, while the booze sales and late-night music were designed to be secondary to the use of the premises. A report on the decision says the "application was not to facilitate a 'night-club' style venue" and this is supported by legally-enforceable conditions.

The report adds objections to the application mostly focussed on previous hours requested by 601PM, which included selling booze from 6am to 2.30am and closing at 3am every day, before being cut.

One objector said: "I fear that this will lead to… much more noise and disturbance during sleeping hours, or when travelling late at night or early in the morning." A second said: "There would be uncontrollable drunken customers creating noise at early hours of the morning awaking neighbouring residents living above the shops next door."

Emily Moon, agent for the application, told the committee: "We have no intention to cause any noise or inconvenience to the neighbourhood and we too live in the neighbourhood as well so we are very aware of the concerns raised and if the licence were to be approved, we will try our very best to abide to all the rules and regulations from the council."