Greggs abandons sausage roll courtroom struggle as Westminster City Council backs down
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reggs stated it had reached a cope with Westminster City Council over the vary of merchandise it will probably promote within the early hours of the morning in central London, the Standard can reveal.
The bakery agency was set to start a three-day courtroom listening to as quickly as right this moment after Westminster refused permission for decent meals and drinks to be bought after 11pm at its Leicester Square department, however boss Roisin Currie stated the listening to had been referred to as off.
She informed the Standard: “We’ve now got an agreement with Westminster — we’ve reached a compromise.
“We can still sell all of our sandwiches, all of our sweet products [late at night] but we’ve been working with the council on what we can sell later in the evening. It’s very positive and we’ve worked well together.”
Greggs might be allowed to promote sizzling drinks, and a few however not all sizzling meals, till midnight Sunday to Wednesday and 2am Thursday to Saturday.
Deputy council chief Aicha Less stated: “Westminster has come to an agreement with Greggs that works for everyone.
“The licence is also subject to significant conditions which includes the installation of CCTV at the premises, the use of door supervisors and the clearing of litter outside the premises.
“We are pleased to continue to support local businesses and look forward to working with the company going forward.”
The Metropolitan Police, Environmental Health, three native Westminster councillors and one resident had complained about the bakery’s plans to sell hot food and drink into the early hours of the morning on weekends.
“It is our belief that if granted, the application could undermine the licensing objectives in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder,” the Met stated.
Greggs stated prospects may turn into “confused” if its full menu was not accessible to all of them night and can be extra prone to trigger hassle.
It provided to make use of safety guards sporting physique cameras on the Leicester Square location to make sure security, however the request was nonetheless refused.
Westminster Council beforehand stated the licensing committee “refused to grant the application on policy grounds” as a result of Greggs had “failed to demonstrate exceptional reasons as to why the application would not have a negative impact on the West End”.
It added: “Greggs would need to try to convince the court that their evidence provides exceptional reasons for allowing the Premises to operate until 5am, despite being located in a cumulative impact zone.”
It comes as Greggs posted gross sales progress of 17.1% within the first 19 weeks of 2023, as evermore price-sensitive prospects flocked to its shops for an inexpensive chunk to eat. It additionally ramped up its vary of meat-free choices together with the brand new Vegan Mexican Chicken-Free Bake.
The Newcastle-based enterprise is eyeing growth throughout UK airports with new shops opening in Glasgow, Cardiff and Gatwick. Bankers searching for a bake may go to its new retailer in Canary Wharf and soon-to-be-opened Moorgate department.