Morley's has been refused permission to open later in a 'violence hotspot' in South London. Morley's in Kingston town centre had applied to extend its opening hours for takeaways and deliveries from 11.30pm to 1am on weekdays.

But Kingston Council's licensing committee refused the application after hearing objections from the Met Police and environmental health at a hearing on July 16. Solicitor Stephanie Bruce-Smith, representing the Met Police, said the chicken shop on Fife Road was in a 'crime hotspot… due to the high levels of violent crime'. She said the area was also 'known locally by the police due to the antisocial behaviour, including drug use, drug supply and street drinking'.

As a result, Ms Bruce-Smith told the hearing, the police believed the proposed extended hours would interfere with its plans to reduce violent crime and antisocial behaviour in the area. She added it could not support the plans 'because the main issue… is not how the premises operates but the operation of this type of premises in this area during these hours'.

Richard Odell, the council's environmental protection officer, also objected to the plans. He wrote in a statement he could not see any need for an extension of the chicken shop's hours as this would 'increase the potential for noise and antisocial behaviour'.

Company Kear79 Ltd had applied to extend the chicken shop's opening hours for takeaways and deliveries from 11.30pm to 1am on Sundays to Thursdays, and until 3am for deliveries on Fridays and Saturdays. It would have closed to dining customers at 11pm every day.

Morley's Kingston location on Fife Road has been operating since October 2022. (Photo: Met Police via Kingston Council)

Consultant Graham Hopkins, representing Kear79 Ltd, said no incidents of crime or antisocial behaviour on Fife Road had been linked to Morley's, other than an isolated noise incident. The venue was turned into a branch of Morley's while it was sublet to another operator from October 2022 to April this year.

Mr Hopkins said the applicant had worked quickly with the police to resolve issues that arose in this time, when he was not running the premises, and it fully complied with its licence. He added: "This premises will not attract large groups of people… we want to be able to serve customers, people who know this shop well.

"It's built up a reputation, it's a good restaurant and we'd like to have that opportunity to supply them both by home deliveries and customer collections Sunday to Thursday for the additional hour-and-a-half."

But the council's licensing committee refused the application after noting the police had first-hand experience of 'criminal behaviour' in the area, unconnected to Morley's, which is under 'several police operations' to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour. A report on the committee's decision said the requested hours were also later than guideline hours for the area.

The report added the chicken shop would not be able to guarantee that delivery drivers would not be noisy when parking outside the venue to collect deliveries, despite conditions offered by the applicant to lock the front door and turn the lights off in the customer area.