A Caribbean restaurant’s plan to stay open until 2am over the Notting Hill Carnival has been opposed by the Metropolitan Police, claiming a similar event at the premises last year contributed to “mass scenes of carnage and disorder”.
One Stop Caribbean (OSC) on Harlesden High Street has applied for two Temporary Event Notices (TENs) over the August Bank Holiday weekend, which would allow it to stay open and sell alcohol until 2am from Friday, August 22 until Tuesday August 26. It would also permit up to 80 people being on the premises.
However, the police are calling on Brent Council to refuse the application due to the venue “breaching last year’s TEN”. Its licensing officer described the High Street as a “public order nightmare” last year when the area was “unlawfully transformed” into an extension of Notting Hill Carnival.
The organisers claim the venue became “overwhelmed” by a “large influx of people” after the police closed the surrounding area and failed to notify them. However, the police said OSC were “a contributing factor”, showed a “blatant disregard” for officers, and were sent a warning letter following the event.
A police report states that unlicensed street trading, illegal selling of alcohol, and unauthorised entertainment resulted in “mass disorder”. Officers and Brent Council officials were confronted with barbecues on the street and excessively loud music, as well as people drinking heavily and smoking cannabis, according to the report.
PC Phil Graves said: “When trying to regain control of the streets police were confronted with a hostile crowd who along with our council officials had to retreat for safety reasons. Gas cylinders were thrown at officers and riot trained police had to be pulled away from the Carnival to regain control. It took police over two hours to regain control of the High Street and Craven Park Road.
“During these two hours police attended OSC and told them to turn off their music as this was encouraging the unlawful street party to continue. Once police had managed to speak to the management – after first being refused entry – the music was turned down. A very short while later speakers were placed outside the venue and the volume turned up loud again.”
PC Graves described the events of last year as “an embarrassment to the community” and claimed both officers and council officials were “targeted for trying to break up the unlawful activities”. With police resources already stretched due to the Carnival being one of the busiest weekends of the year, he suggested the loud music and hot food drew people to the scene and contributed to the chaos.
The applicant, Sophia Dixon, responded to “acknowledge the seriousness of the concerns” raised by the police but claimed an “unrelated public order incident” on the High Road led to the police closing the surrounding area without communicating it to the venue.
Ms Dixon said: “This sudden closure led to a large and unmanageable influx of people seeking refuge or access, which overwhelmed both the venue and its external security provider. We acknowledge that the actions of the employed security firm did not meet the standards we expect or communicated. As a result, we have formally ended our relationship with that provider.”
A subsequent TEN was granted to the venue for an event held in December 2024, which Ms Dixon said “occurred without any incident or police intervention” and since then the venue has worked cooperatively with both the police and Brent Council.
She added: “We understand that public safety and the licensing objectives must be protected. However, we respectfully request that this current decision be reconsidered on the basis that OSC did not initiate or control the public disorder referenced. Appropriate steps have since been taken to rectify management and security shortfalls [and] OSC remains committed to a collaborative approach with enforcement partners.”
PC Graves has said that the police will oppose any TEN over the August Bank Holiday weekend and will be presenting bodycam footage of last year at the application hearing so all involved can understand “what we are trying to avoid”. The application will be reviewed by Brent Council’s Alcohol and Entertainment Licensing Sub-Committee on July 30.
Grant Williams is a journalist and Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Reach PLC, reporting on local government, politics and community issues across London. As part of the Local Democracy Reporting Service, he has contributed to Harrow Online, covering council decisions, housing developments, transport, planning matters and stories affecting local communities across Harrow and Brent.
