Councillors decide Wednesday whether Fields Cafe can sell alcohol in Ladywell Fields, after one objection and four added conditions. The 7pm meeting is public.

Lewisham councillors will decide on Wednesday 26 August whether the cafe in Ladywell Fields can sell alcohol, after a resident objected that it would change the culture of the park.

The application goes to Licensing Sub-Committee D at 7pm. It was made on 2 July 2026 by Park Cafe SE13 Ltd, and it asks for permission to sell alcohol for drinking both on and off the premises:

  • 12:00 to 18:00, Monday to Friday
  • 12:00 to 20:00, Saturday and Sunday

The papers are published in full on the council’s committee site, including the officer report, the objection and the conditions now attached.

The council advertised it wrong, then extended the deadline

One detail in the officer report is the council’s own. It records that the application “was not initially advertised in accordance with regulation 25” of the Licensing Act 2003 regulations. Those rules set out how an application has to be publicised, so that people can find it and object in time.

Because of that, the consultation was extended. The last day for representations moved from 30 July to 3 August 2026.

One objection, and what it says

The report records a single representation from a member of the public, on two of the four licensing objectives: prevention of public nuisance, and protection of children from harm. Officers judged it neither vexatious nor frivolous, and it arrived in time.

The objector does not argue that park cafes should never hold licences. The point made is about where the drinking would happen:

I am aware that alcohol licences have been granted at a number of other cafes in Lewisham parks. However, I also understand that these other venues have dedicated indoor areas where most of, if not all, the drinks are consumed. This will not be the case for Fields Cafe.

The objection says drinks would instead be consumed at tables next to the main path outside the cafe, or around the children’s playground. It raises three further points:

  • that when the Ladywell Fields User Group asked park users in 2025 what they wanted from a new cafe, nobody asked for alcohol
  • that routine outdoor drinking in a park sits awkwardly beside the council’s own public spaces protection orders on nuisance drinking
  • that a public park “should be welcoming to everyone living in the borough”, and that some communities may be put off

Rather than refusal, the objector asks the committee to go more slowly, granting a limited number of temporary event notices for one-off events over the coming year instead of a full licence.

Four conditions were added, and the council’s own objection was dropped

The licensing authority itself made a representation. It has since been withdrawn, after the conditions the applicant had offered were replaced in full with four agreed ones, for “clarity, proportionality and enforceability”:

Condition What it requires
MC11 A Challenge 25 style age check, photo ID or PASS card only, with signage
MC13 A written record of every refused alcohol sale, open to police or council inspection
MC42 Enough measures to stop litter building up immediately outside the cafe
MC44 Staff supervision of anyone drinking or smoking outside, to prevent nuisance

No other responsible authority objected. That list includes the police, the London Fire Brigade, public health, trading standards, the planning authority, environmental enforcement for noise, and children’s services.

Park Cafe SE13 Ltd was incorporated on 9 March 2026, with a registered office on Montague Avenue, in Ladywell ward, the same ward as the park. Its registered trade is listed under the code for unlicensed restaurants and cafes.

What it means for you

If you use Ladywell Fields, Wednesday is the point at which this is settled, not the start of a consultation. The window for written representations closed on 3 August.

The committee has five options open to it. It can grant the licence as applied for, grant it with conditions it modifies further, cut out some of the activities applied for, refuse to accept the named premises supervisor, or refuse the application outright.

Whatever it decides, either side can appeal to the magistrates’ court, and has 21 days from the date of the decision letter to do it.

The meeting is a public one. Agendas, papers and the attendance details are on the council’s page for Licensing Sub-Committee D on 26 August. Licensing questions go to the council’s licensing team at licensing@lewisham.gov.uk.

Ladywell Fields is in Ladywell ward. Other applications currently open for representations across the borough are listed on Lewisham’s current licensing applications register, which is updated as applications come in.

You may also want our guides to planning applications in Lewisham and parking in Lewisham.